What Matters Most
by NoelleWynters
Summary: To free a genie always came at a cost, Cyrus knew that from experience. Although he was loathed to set things right, he had been told once he would be free from his existence as a genie, and he knew this was not how it was to happen. Takes place after episode 1x08 Home.
1. Three Wishes

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

If only they had listened, but he knew better than anyone that Alice was stubborn and hard to reason with when she had her mind set on some notion or other. He was never sure if sometimes it was just a clash of her free spirit and his idiosyncrasies from being a genie for so long. As to Will, he had only just met him but could read him well enough to know stubbornness wasn't just a personality trait for him; it was a way of life. This all could have been avoided if they'd just listened.

He sighed, and laid back down on the bed. He should be happy, but he was not. The initial joy of freedom had worn off when the terrible cost of that wish came to light. As much as he desired freedom he would never want someone else to take his place. Not when it was someone so dear to another, he knew his and Alice's love ran deep but given the chance he was well aware there was another couple who could rekindle what had obviously been a very bright flame for one another.

The wish might not have been meant to set him free from the bonds of his bottle, but it had had that result. He'd warned Will to be careful, wishes were tricky and they didn't always turn out as you'd expect. He'd seen so many go awry, and he'd been wished free before only to see that freedom taken away once more.

This time, as the wish wasn't worded quite that way, he wasn't sure what the price would be. One person was already paying for it and Cyrus worried what the cost would be to the other party. It never ended well, for the wisher or the genie, and he did not want to see anything worse befall Alice should some ill fate come for him. She'd already lost a friend, and as he'd told her, he would have gladly spent eternity in his bottle for her sake. He feared what greater heartache could be in store; at least if he were in his bottle it was just a matter of finding each other again. He had been more than prepared to make that sacrifice just to see her live.

He also knew there was only one way he would ever be set free, although it had never been explained to him. All the time he spent alone, watching that compass spin he'd pondered what it could be, but knew that was the point to how ambiguously it was worded: he wasn't meant to know until it happened.

"Cyrus, are you alright?" a voice asked from his right. He hadn't even realized he was not alone in the home that had been created for him and Alice to stay safe from all the dangers of the world, although he really should have been aware of that fact.

He glanced over to see the Red Queen, or rather, Anastasia, looking at him with concern in her blue eyes. He could still read the sadness in their depths and he longed to do anything to erase it. She had barely smiled since they'd taken refuge from the world, and she rarely spoke to anyone, not that it mattered. Alice would hardly speak to her and he was the only one that would try to start conversation with the former queen. Alice always inquired as to why, after everything she had done but he understood going to extremes for someone you love. She had hurt so many along the way, but everyone made mistakes and didn't they deserve forgiveness if they were truly remorseful for what they'd done?

He closed his eyes, to try to shut out her pain. A small part of him still did not want to trust her, after everything she'd done to both him and Alice, but he understood what she'd been after. He'd lived countless lifetimes; he knew how human desires worked. They always wanted exactly what they couldn't have or longed to rewrite the past. Sadly, when it came to the past it either took a few well chosen words or the door simply had to be closed on the mistakes. Sometimes you simply could not go back and fix it.

But Cyrus intended to fix this. It had been a few weeks since that wish and they'd been hiding from Jafar, who had his sights set on killing Anastasia, not to mention he was searching high and low for the bottle. Neither of those courses of action would work out for the sorcerer, as Anastasia stayed hidden or used her magic to cloak herself and who she was with from sight. As well they had somehow managed to find the bottle, which was a miraculous occurrence in itself.

No one had dared to summon Will out of it, as of yet. Anastasia couldn't handle the idea of it, she was already broken enough that he had refused her love which baffled Cyrus. Her love ran deep, he could see that. Anyone who would go to the lengths she had tried, just to have him back, obviously felt they needed that person to complete them. He certainly didn't agree with how she went about it, but someone desperate and in love didn't always think clearly or could even imagine the far reaching consequences of their actions.

Alice had toyed with the idea, but Cyrus had stopped her. He needed time to think, wishes were tricky and he'd seen so many go wrong. He knew she simply wanted to see her friend again, but he insisted they wait a little longer. He always used the excuse that Jafar could be anywhere and there was no telling how Will was going to react. Thankfully, Alice believed him. He always marveled that she did, as lying had never been his strong suit. Maybe she believed his words because she wasn't truly ready to see what had become of her friend.

The former genie mused the Knave likely didn't look overly different, other than the bindings that would keep him tethered to that bottle, but his temperament might be less than desirable. When he'd become a genie he'd grown up with the knowledge of them and what they did, Will on the other hand had been thrust into it by chance and had no idea what was expected of him.

When he'd first been captured he assumed Jafar meant to drain him of his magic, but soon discovered that wasn't his intentions at all. A spell to change the laws of magic that required three particular genies, that was all Anastasia could tell him. Jafar kept his secrets close, and never told her much. The only information she'd ever gleaned of him, after marvelling the lengths he was going to just to acquire the third genie, was each genie needed had something special about them and no other would do. At first she'd thought maybe there were only three genies left in all the realms, but he'd assured her that wasn't the case; there were many genies but they were hard to find as whoever came into possessing them would hide them away from the world. Or there were the rare cases of a particular region having their own genie, and getting to those were nigh on impossible as the people were very quick to take arms.

He'd also explained, at her insistence, there were different temperaments of genie as well. Not all were good and compliant wish granting entities as the one they were currently hunting; some were malevolent and would try to trick their master into switching places with them in a bid for freedom. Those were the types that were to be avoided at all costs, for all Jafar's knowledge he was unsure why some were like that. Anastasia assumed those genies were likely about as heartless as the sorcerer himself.

Now with him free, that spell most likely could not be cast. Cyrus really didn't understand the particulars of it; spells were not his forte despite being a genie. He didn't need to know any of that in order to grant wishes, it was the magic within him that did it; he was simply a vessel for which it to work through. He did have to know how to channel it, but the spells in order to grant the wishes were something he had no need to know; once a wish was made it all came to him and the magic did what it needed to do, he just directed it.

Should Jafar acquire the bottle from them, which was not likely to happen but the possibility could never be ruled out, there was no telling how he would react when he discovered someone unexpected inside. Anastasia feared for Will's life, as there was always the chance the sorcerer would use a wish to put Cyrus back in his bottle, and kill the Knave on the spot once he was mortal again.

He felt the bed dip slightly and opened his eyes to see Anastasia looking at him with concern in hers. It would seem it wasn't only he who could read people; she appeared to have the talent as well. "I would think freedom would make you happy," she stated, a frown coming over her face.

"Not at the cost," he answered flatly. He'd told Will to choose his words carefully, why hadn't he listened? He could have insisted on giving the wish back to Alice or even just wished them both back to health. There were so many ways that it could have been worded that would not have had such a high cost. And it was a cost he simply could not live with.

"Will never was one to think things through, trust me. He could come up with great plans when there was a need, but sometimes he'd just go on a wing and prayer," she admitted, making Cyrus laugh a bit. That did make him think of Alice a touch. "I preferred a plan myself, taking things as they come worked sometimes but going in with a solid plan always worked better."

"You did all this, caused all this pain, solely to have him back?" Cyrus inquired as he looked at her, even though he already knew the answer. He just wanted her to admit it again, before he went through with his plan.

Anastasia nodded, sadness washing over her face again. "I regret what I did all those years ago. But I did it to keep him safe, stealing from the king would have resulted in both our deaths. If I could have found him after marrying the king I would have explained it all but he'd disappeared. By the time I found him again, he'd changed. He was cold, uncaring and not the man I remembered. I fancied if that was how he wanted to be, I could return the favour tenfold. But then I heard of this spell, the idea of being able to change the past was far too alluring. It only took finding you and forcing Alice to use her wishes, it seemed so easy. I should have known nothing of worth ever comes easy."

"I can assure you there is a volume of truth in that statement," he said, sitting up on the bed and glancing over at the bottle. He wondered why Will had refused her; there had been nothing but honesty in the words of her confession. How could he be so cold, what had happened to make him that way? Such a short lifespan, Cyrus guessed he wasn't more than thirty mortal years although it was hard to tell with the way time moved in each realm, but no matter the passage of time, how had he become so unfeeling in such a short time? At one point he must have loved the woman who was willing to do anything to have him back.

"You know, darling, I can almost read your mind. If you do this, you'll break Alice's heart," Anastasia alleged, placing one of her slender hands on his shoulder in a friendly manner. "I don't matter, my mistakes are my own and now I will pay for them."

Cyrus shook his head; she didn't fully understand what that wish had done. "No, you matter, as does Alice and Will. I am the one who does not matter. I understand that life; it is one I have lived for longer than you can comprehend. I may not like it, but it is not something I would wish upon anyone. We all have our place in the world and I am well aware of mine. This mistake is costing more than just you; he will suffer in the end as well."

"You do yourself a great disservice in doubting your worth in the world, Cyrus. Sometimes it takes only one person to make the whole world for someone. That is what Will was for me; he was my entire world. I threw it away and regretted it. Maybe it was a fool's errand to try to get it back, I tried so many times to hurt Alice and in the end it would have hurt you as well. Your happiness is more important than mine, you need to know that," she explained, confusion washing over her face as he shook his head with a touch of a smile.

"Believe it or not, I had a bit of contentment in that bottle," he softly said, starting to fidget slightly with the pendent Alice had returned to him. He'd never told anyone, not even Alice, how exactly he'd ended up as a genie. All he'd said was at one time he'd been mortal and that he'd had a mother, he never expanded on it and never intended to.

Realization dawned on Anastasia's face, her blue eyes going wide at the implication behind his words. "Alice mentioned you were born human, you did all this to save someone, didn't you?" she asked, reaching out and grasping his hands in her shock. She doubted he'd tell her, if he hadn't even said a word to Alice, it wasn't like he had a reason to trust her with any confidences.

He simply nodded. "It was a long time ago, it was a burden I took on and I will not allow someone else to live with it. I agreed to it, he did not."

Anastasia pouted a bit; obviously she wasn't getting any more out of him. She did hate how he spoke in riddles at times, and wondered if it had something to do with his life as a genie. "There is nothing I can say to stop you?" she inquired, as he shook his head. "I do long to argue this until you agree to see my point of view, but it is more than obvious I'll be wasting my breath. A selfish part of me gladdens at the thought of what you're going to do, but I do wish it hadn't been necessary to start with."

Cyrus squeezed her hands before letting them go, and then stood and walked over to pick up the bottle that had once been his, and would be again. "Love is making sacrifices. I sacrificed my mortal life for love many lifetimes ago, and although I would rather not put Alice through this heartache I cannot allow Will to live with this burden. I told her life with me would not be easy."

Anastasia laughed slightly, partially to break the tension in the room and because he'd just brought back a few rather humorous memories of Will with that statement. "Darling, you want a hard life try dealing with Will when he gets his mind stuck on something. Now that is a hard life."

Cyrus laughed, inwardly thankful that Alice had gone off on some adventure or other. He'd only agreed to her leaving the safety of their hidden home because Anastasia had given her a charm that would cloak her from Jafar as well as any spies he may have, and it would give him a chance to get this over with before she returned.

Anastasia watched pensively as Cyrus walked outside with the bottle that contained the one man she knew she loved more than life itself. She was sad all the events of the past few months had come down to this; why hadn't Will listened to her? The only person who had absolutely no reason to believe her, and had every reason to hate her, had been the one to show her any trust.

If only they had listened, they wouldn't be in this place right now.

* * *

Cyrus waited patiently, or at least he was certain he was being patient, as Will finally appeared before him in a grey mist. The Knave of Hearts looked a little disoriented, to say the least. He looked around himself for a few moments to get his bearings, and when his eyes finally landed on Cyrus a slightly amused grin crossed his face.

"Well isn't this adorable," he said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Cyrus raised an eyebrow questioningly. "That isn't how you first greet someone who is your master."

"Oh bloody hell, I'm not spouting off that line," Will insisted, looking around with a bit of a strange, panicked look in his eyes. "Why the hell did you guys leave me in there so long?"

"That was my fault, partially," Cyrus confessed, earning himself an exceptionally annoyed look from Will. "Look, you're a genie right now; you have to follow the rules."

"Fine, here's your wishes," Will said, snapping his fingers a few times before Cyrus found himself holding the familiar little jewels he'd bestowed on many people over the years. It wasn't exactly how it should be done but he wasn't going to argue, this was going to be over soon. It did confuse him that Will didn't know exactly what he was doing, but then again he hadn't grown up with all that lore around him.

Cyrus looked at the tiny, ruby like wishes in his hand, wondering what all of his masters over the years must have thought when they'd appeared in the palm of their hand. Such tiny things with great possibility, if worded correctly. Even then they could go very wrong, as they were such unpredictable things.

"Why?" Cyrus softly asked, glancing up at Will.

Will looked at him oddly. "Why what? You're going to have to be more specific, I don't talk in riddles like you do."

"Why did you turn her down? Her confessions were from the heart and she was trying to save us all. She loves you," Cyrus told him, truly curious as to why Will had rebuked her in such a harsh way. He had always believed love was something that needed no proof, so why did Will act as though nothing Anastasia could say or do would ever be enough to prove her love for him?

"I can't love her," Will answered, trying to make it obvious by his tone there was no room to debate the topic.

Cyrus looked at him again, trying to figure out why exactly he had turned Anastasia down. Despite being mortal, he still could sense certain things; he had been a magical being for longer than he could remember. It only took him a few minutes longer than usual, but he suddenly realized why Will said he couldn't love Anastasia again; he had no heart.

'Well,' he thought 'that takes care of the second wish.'

"Are you going to make a bloody wish or are you just enjoying this switch of roles? Because honestly, I don't understand what you found to do in that bottle, there is absolutely nothing in there," Will blurted out.

"Sleep, for the most part," Cyrus told him, grinning. "For my first wish, I wish for Alice, Anastasia and you to be protected from Jafar."

Will cocked an eyebrow at that request, he thought it odd Cyrus didn't include himself in that one but fancied it had something to do with all wishes came with a cost. Goodness knows he'd learned that the hard way, he never envisioned this when he'd made that wish, if he had even thought of this outcome he would have worded it different. He snapped his fingers and felt the magic flow through him, and made the assumption it must be done.

"So, I have to go back in there to bore myself to death or do I get to be out and play like you did for a few years?" he asked, to which Cyrus shook his head.

"We're not done yet," he informed the Knave, who gave him an exasperated look.

"Really? You can't save the last two for a rainy day?" he quipped right when Cyrus made his second wish. He didn't actually hear what was said, but he felt it. First he felt the magic going through him, and suddenly there was a pain in his chest.

He clutched at the space above where his heart should be, and shot Cyrus a look to kill. "You wished me back my heart, I didn't want that bloody thing!" he snapped, collapsing to his knees upon the grassy ground. "There was a reason I didn't put it back."

"Life is full of heartache, you can't run away from it Will," Cyrus told him, as Will began to argue with him. He found it hard to believe the man had not put his heart back in, although he had no idea how it had been removed in the first place. He recalled, vaguely, Alice telling of an adventure to retrieve it for the Knave of Hearts, although this was the first he'd put two and two together.

"What happened to all wishes come with a string attached? Doesn't this seem like a mighty stupid wish to you?" Will moaned, wanting the ache to go away. He'd been telling himself he might one day put his heart back, even though he knew he was lying to himself. Why deal with the pain when you can run from it?

"Selfish wishes always come with a cost, as does the one to wish a genie free. Although with your wish, that was not exactly the intention but for some reason it was the result. But what is done is done, you can no longer run from that heartache, it is time you dealt with it," Cyrus informed him, fidgeting with the last wish. He really hoped when he said it that it would work; he knew technically he wasn't wishing Will freedom and nature abhorred a vacuum. The only way for a genie to be free was for someone to take their place. At least, that was how he perceived it as he'd heard of less than kind genies tricking their masters into taking their place, and somehow the roles were never reversed. That brought him to the conclusion if he took Will's place there would be no consequences.

He halted for a moment, reluctant to voice the last wish. If his reasoning was right, then he could stay free. He could leave Will in this predicament and live out his life as a mortal with Alice. Why should he not? There was no reason he couldn't, no one else would draw these conclusions or call him selfish. Everyone was aware a genie could not be wished free, how would they know that it took another to take the genie's place to set the one free? It would be so easy to walk away and leave Will as he was, but Cyrus couldn't do it. Right then he damned his upbringing and sense of duty. This was his lot in life, he'd agreed to it and he had to see it through until whatever came to pass that would free him for good.

Will glared up at him from where he was kneeling on the ground, his hand still placed over where his heart now was. Anger flashed in his eyes, it should have been his decision if and when he put his heart back. There was no reason he couldn't continue running form the heartache Anastasia had caused him. "Like hell I can't run from it. It all was working just fine for me, it isn't like you can tell me you can understand heartache this bad."

Cyrus smiled, be it a sad smile. "I can, that is how I became a genie to begin with. My final wish is to take the burden of that life back from you, as it is I who agreed to that become a genie, not you."

Will's jaw dropped as he felt the bindings loosen from his wrists, only to disappear from his sight a second later. Along with the pain in his chest he felt a sudden draining, although he hadn't grown accustom the idea of having magic he still felt it leaving his body. It was a strange sensation, not overly pleasant but he had to admit he was glad to feel all that unwanted magic leaving him.

He glanced up when the last had left him to see Cyrus slowly vanishing in an orange mist, which then went into the bottle he had just left moments earlier. Along with the aching in his chest over all the pain from losing Anastasia a new ache was added; the fact that this was going to destroy Alice.

Slowly he reached out and grabbed the bottle that he was more than happy to be free of, standing up on shaky legs. "Bloody self sacrificing fool, why the bloody hell would you be willing to take all that back? And who the hell agrees to be a genie to start with, I can't imagine anything or anyone being worth all that." he grumbled as he walked towards the spot he was certain the door was.

If the pain in his heart over Anastasia didn't kill him, he was sure Alice would.

* * *

Alice smiled brightly as she rushed towards the place she called home in Wonderland. Her plan had worked, the added help of Lizard was essential to it as well, and she'd retrieved what she'd wanted. It was sheer luck she'd run into the girl again, and Lizard was more than up for trying her hand at stealing something from the Caterpillar.

It really was a fool's errand to try to take anything from the oversized insect, but once Alice had figured out what exactly Cyrus had given up for her she knew she had to get it back. She could tell he was having a bit of a time adjusting to mortality again and thought possibly a reminder of the time long ago when he had been mortal might help.

She did wonder at times if part of his melancholy had to do with how he'd gained his freedom. The wish, of which she'd been told the exact wording of later, had been odd. Of course Cyrus was part of her pain, but so was her relationship with her father and a good many other smaller things, pain was part of life and there was no getting away from it. You simply had to enjoy what you had in the moment. She did have moments she wondered what, if any, affect that wish could have had on her father. Although she had no idea what could have happened to him after she wished him home, to save his life.

Wishes were so unpredictable; she could only hope there had been no consequences for her father. Despite all her grievances with him she knew he was a good man and had the capacity to be a wonderful father. She'd observed him more than once with Millie in her short time living with him before leaving for the asylum. The jealously she'd felt was almost suffocating at times, why did this child get all his love whilst she'd been starved for it?

But all things happened for a reason, she knew that. Her upbringing had thrown her into the path of someone who would show her all the love she could ever desire. He had given her so much, now she felt she was returning the favour by giving him back the link to his past that he had given up to ensure them a safe future.

With a radiant smile gracing her face, Alice slipped into the home they were hiding in at the moment anticipating how happy Cyrus would be to have his mother's compass back in his possession.

The first thing she'd been met with was a bit of shouting. She knew Anastasia and Cyrus were getting along, a fact that baffled her a bit, but she quickly realized the other voice was different. A second later she realized exactly who it was, and her smile brightened even more. "Will!" she exclaimed when she saw him standing up against a wall, an angry scowl on his face.

That dropped when he saw Alice, replaced by a nervous smile. He was happy to see her again, but now that he had his heart back he could empathize with the pain she was about to go through. If there had been some way of stopping Cyrus from making that last wish, he might have stopped him. Will couldn't say for certain he would; with or without his heart he never had been a selfless person. He'd learned at a young age the only person you can count on is yourself, and helping others nine times out of ten would only cost you in the end. While he loved Alice like a sister and would do anything for her, he also wasn't sure he wanted the role reversal to stick. If Cyrus had said his intentions with the last wish he wasn't certain he'd have argued it. If he was completely honest with himself, he might have insisted the man hurry up and make the bloody wish.

"Who let you out of the bottle?" she asked, rushing over to give him a hug. Alice had begun to wonder if anyone would ever let Will back out, Anastasia had made it clear she could not handle it and Cyrus kept insisting they wait. With Anastasia she could understand how heartbreaking it would be for her, but when it came to Cyrus and his objections she was rather confused.

She was surprised when Will abruptly pulled out of the hug and gave her a little push away. She glanced down and instantly noticed something wrong. Will was a genie now, and there were certain things she knew would be in place. She didn't expect him to reappear looking as Cyrus did the first time she'd seen him, but she knew of the binds that would tether him to the bottle. "Where are they?" she inquired, not even saying the word. She hated that word; the first time she'd heard Cyrus say it she found it rather distressing. It really emphasised, to her, that he was a prisoner and she hated it.

Will averted her gaze and shrugged, glancing darkly at Anastasia. Alice found her eyes following his to look at the former Red Queen, who looked insulted. Obviously something had happened when she was gone and that was when she realized someone was missing. "Where's Cyrus?"

"Talk to her, maybe she'll tell you the truth because she bloody well won't tell me anything but a little story," Will spat out, crossing his arms across his chest. Cyrus may have wished him back his heart, but he was not falling for any of Anastasia's tales or her tears. He would never be fooled by her again.

Anastasia fought to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. She knew she deserved a good amount of distrust from both of them, and even some hatred. But this open hostility from Will was more than she could take, even after she told him everything that had been said between her and Cyrus right before he'd been summoned out of the genie's bottle he continued to treat her as if she was not to be trusted. She insisted she was telling the truth but to him every word she spoke was nothing but lies.

Instead of saying a word, she grasped the bottle and pulled the cork out. She'd already summoned Cyrus once and had implored him to go back into his bottle when the argument with Will had gotten out of hand, feeling guilty over the apprehensive look that flitted over his face. Evidently he found it a little claustrophobic in there after being free of it for so long. Although right then she was regretting it, as he was the only person who even believed in her. Why was it the person who had every reason not to that seemed to have even a whisper of faith in her words?

She watched as pain washed over Alice's face at the sight of Cyrus appearing amid an orange mist, uttering the phrase he knew he had to when summoned: mistress mine, my will is thine.

Before anyone could speak, Alice turned to Anastasia and demanded to know what she'd said to trick him into giving up his freedom so she could have another chance with Will. She even implied this was all a trick, that when they were sleeping she'd run off to Jafar and hand Cyrus and his bottle over.

Anastasia was stunned by the accusations, had Jafar's attempt to kill her not put them all into this mess to begin with? If not for that, the third wish would not have been made and things would have remained as they were. "Why are you blaming me? Cyrus has a mind of his own, and I'm fairly certain he's old enough to make his own decisions!" she snapped, once more fighting the tears that were threatening to fall in her upset and frustration. "I would never hand him over to Jafar again, I've learned my lesson. Why would I hand that madman the only friend I seem to have?"

Will snorted at that, which earned him a strange look from Cyrus. The genie didn't understand why the Knave was still denying his feelings, he'd wished him back his heart and still he wouldn't deal with anything? "I learned a long time ago not to believe a word that passed over your pretty lips, love. Cyrus here might have been better off not believing you as well, he's gotten himself into a right mess. The second you feel like switching sides he'll find himself handed right back to Jafar now that you're his mistress."

Those words broke Alice, and she couldn't help the tears that began to fall. Right at that moment her happiness was held in the hands of the very woman who had tried to destroy it in that not so distant past. How could she blindly trust that this woman would not hand Cyrus back to Jafar if and when the notion struck her? She may have brought Cyrus back to her, but she still could not find it in her heart to fully trust her.

She walked over to Anastasia, anger flaring in her blue eyes. "Why should I trust you? For all I know you told all sorts of lies to convince him to switch places with the Knave, all for your own gain. Now you can hand him back to Jafar and get everything you have ever wanted," she accused, her voice rising in volume and tone with every word.

Cyrus stepped forward and grasped Alice's hands in his, only to have her pull away. "Why would you do this? Were you not happy with me, was I not enough for you to want to stay free?" she asked, her voice suddenly dropping to a volume hardly above a whisper.

He shook his head; he wanted to explain everything to her but could not bring himself to. It wasn't just the memory of the pain he'd caused those he loved with his decision in the far distant past, but he wanted to forget that mortal life. He could never go back, he would never see those people again and it hurt to think about it. He'd willingly given up his mortal life for the sake of another, but he'd rather not talk about it if he could avoid it.

In that moment he began to understand the Knave, although he could not fully comprehend why he did not deal with the pain. Cyrus had resigned himself to what he'd done all those years ago, it had been the only option that he could find and he knew giving the choice he'd do it again without any reservations. But still, he could not understand the Knave's choice to avoid dealing with his heartache.

"Alice, it is not a case of I was not happy with you. I am, you've given me more than I could have ever hoped for as I went from one master to another for longer than you can possibly comprehend. But I agreed to this life, I had an idea of what I was agreeing to when I did. It was a price I was more than willing to pay at that time, and I would again if the situation were to repeat itself. The Knave did not agree to such a high price and I could not allow him to live with my burden," he explained, once again trying to take her hands in his but she continued to evade him.

The tears began to fall from her eyes, making his heart break in the process. He knew this was going to hurt her, and he knew it would be deep. He had always been aware of the fact she had always longed for him to be free, that the fact he was a genie was a bit of a stumbling block in their relationship. There was always someone waiting in the shadows to destroy their happiness, and with him as a genie again the looming threat of Jafar hung over them again. It had not been as heavy for Alice the last time, as she didn't know who he was or what he was capable of.

Cyrus knew, all too well, and he could only hope that the sorcerer would never catch up with them. The man had a talent for inflicting pain on both the psychological and physical level. He had no desire to be captured by Jafar again, but he could not rule it out. They had to leave Wonderland, and it had to be soon.

"You've said once before that you had willingly agreed to become a genie, but still you won't tell me why. It only seems fair that I should know, if you love me as much as you say you do," Alice implored, looking at him with watery eyes. She knew she was being slightly childish, accusing him of not loving her enough when she knew full well he loved her as deeply as she did him. In that moment though, she didn't care. She was hurting and was afraid for his well being. What would Jafar do if he was captured by the crazed man again?

He sighed, he did owe her something. "It was for my mother, to save her life. In order to save her, I had to give up mine to become a servant to the race I once counted myself among."

Will looked over at that admission, rather surprised. "Wait, I thought genies just were, you mean to tell me you were once human?"

"I believe that's what he said Will, maybe you should try listening once in awhile," Anastasia snapped, thoroughly annoyed at his rather stupid question.

"Oh shut up. You can't tell me that you knew this whole time," he shot back with a fiery glare.

She leveled him with a haughty stare, something she'd acquired quite the talent for as the Red Queen. She'd dealt with enough insufferable fools in her time, and right in that moment Will was starting to number among them. She still loved him, and wanted him back more than anything, but she wasn't blind to his faults. "I had assumed he had once been human. Jafar needed three genies, and one time he did give me enough of a hint to figure it out, if any of what he said could be trusted to be truth. The first was easy, the oldest genie in existence. I fancied that meant that genie would have the greatest power. The second, although he swore they were the hardest to acquire, was a genie particular to a certain region. That type seemed to pass from one master to another in one area, until it was time to move on to another place and repeat the cycle. I don't know the point to that one, other than it seemed each one was special for some reason or another. The last was one who had the capacity to love, as normally that is an emotion foreign to genies. After seeing Cyrus the first time I knew he wasn't just the third to be caught, but the third required for the spell. If genies normally did not love, not the way we think love is, then he had to have been human at one time."

"Well aren't we a smart girl?" Will drawled, he wasn't really in the mood to deal with her, or any of this heartfelt stuff. "Either way, that seems a pretty high price to pay for anyone. I loved my mum but I'm pretty sure she'd have killed me if I even thought of going to those extremes for her. Even if the chance came up, I'm not sure I could jump on it without some reservations."

Cyrus smiled. "We're all different and it was a different time. I wanted her to live, even if it cost me in the end. I have no regrets, no matter how many horrid masters I had over the years, when I returned to my bottle I had one reminder that she was still alive out there, even though I would never see her again. At least I did, until it stopped pointing me towards her."

Alice brightened a touch then, although there was still a trace of sadness and anger in her eyes. She reached into the little satchel she had over her shoulder and fished out the compass. Part of her wanted to throw it at him and storm off, but she knew that was uncalled for. He'd hurt her, deeply, but there was no point in trying to wound him as well. He was once again living with the very real threat of Jafar capturing him again, and although he didn't say it, she knew he'd also wished to take that life back from Will to keep the Knave safe as well.

"Here," she said, shoving the compass into his hands. "I thought it would cheer you up, even if it has stopped pointing."

Anastasia and Will walked over to see what the item was, and her eyes went wide. "A lost and found? How did you manage to get that from the Caterpillar?" she asked, surprise evident in her voice.

Alice grinned proudly. "I had a little help from Lizard," she answered.

Will laughed, he'd almost forgotten about her. "She always was bloody good at lifting things. Get in and out without anyone even realizing she was there."

That statement from Will made Anastasia laugh. She could recall the Tweedles complaining about someone stealing from them from time to time, it sounded like she might be the culprit. Although neither Tweedle was her definition of brilliant so it couldn't be that difficult to steal from them.

"How did you know what that thing is, it looks like a compass to me," Will asked, looking at Anastasia curiously. It was rather suspect to him she knew the item without anyone saying exactly what it was.

She shrugged. "I liked to know about all the magical things in this realm, and had tried to acquire it a few times with no luck. I had no idea how that oversized insect had gotten his grubby hands on it, but I did long to relieve him of it."

"You could have gotten yourself into a lot of trouble getting this Alice," Cyrus said, smiling his thanks regardless. He did not regret giving it up to keep her safe, but it was the only link he had left to his mother even if it no longer pointed him to where she was.

"You're welcome," Alice answered, knowing that was his way of thanking her.

"What is it supposed to do, all it does is spin like a bloody top," Will commented as he watched the needle go around and around without so much as a second or two to pause.

"At one time, it always pointed towards my mother. No matter where I was or what hardship I could possibly be enduring, be it was a cruel master or the isolation of the life I had, once inside my bottle I could look at this compass and know she was still out there. But it stopped pointing a long time ago," he explained. "The last time I saw her, before I was imprisoned in my bottle, she gave it to me. She said it would always point me to her, that it would always direct me to her undying love even if I could not seek her out."

Alice reached out to grasp his arm, avoiding the bindings she hated so much, and rested her head on his shoulder. He'd obviously had a strong relationship with his mother, if he'd given up his life for her. Despite everything with her father, she'd give up a good deal to see him safe and healthy.

Anastasia observed the spinning needle, her mind racing. It was possible there was a reason it had stopped pointing, and it had nothing to do with death. This could be a way to repay the debt she felt she owed the genie, and she was determined to find a way to get it to point again.

* * *

Millie enjoyed going to the dressmaker's shop with her mother. She loved watching how the material would slowly take shape into a pretty dress for her to wear, or her mother. She also enjoyed seeing and touching all the different types of material, as neither of the women working in the shop would stop her from touching anything she pleased, since her mother was a regular and one who could be a problem if she was angered.

It wasn't that Millie made a habit of grabbing everything she saw in the shop, but she did like running her fingertips across silk and satin, they were such a luxurious feel and her mother never allowed her to have dresses made of either material. Her father had insisted once she should have a dress made with some silk accents for Christmas one year, but her mother had put a stop to it and fast.

She pouted a bit as the thought came back to her mind, but it was driven out quickly when she saw the person she was seeking out. Her mother would spend her time talking to Mrs. Slater, the owner of the shop, discussing different designs and sometimes asking if Millie could stay while she ran an errand or two. They were old family friends, so the little girl often found herself allowed to stay, much to her joy.

It wasn't that she liked talking to Mrs. Slater. She was a nice woman who would show her different little tricks when it came to making dresses, as Millie had started trying her hand at sewing to make her dolls some little gowns. It was the other woman who worked in the shop she loved to see.

Her mother was against fairy tales and fanciful stories. She'd become even more against those sorts of tales after Alice had reappeared, and her father had spoken once recently of a fanciful dream in which he'd seen Alice and some sorcerer named Jafar. He did not speak of it again, at least not with Sarah in the room. Sometimes, when she was out calling on friends, he would tell Millie about it and how Alice had used a wish to send him home, even though he'd insisted he was not worth it and told her that her genie was free.

Millie loved hearing the story, and her mind always wandered late at night, wondering if her sister had found the genie. His name had escaped her, even though she'd heard it a few times. Even her father had forgotten it, he said he knew it but it would not come to him. Either way, Millie thought it was an amazing adventure, and she longed to know if Alice and her love were reunited, even though she was well aware she'd never have the answer.

She grinned when she found the woman she was looking for. "Pari!" she exclaimed, darting over to the older woman with an excited grin on her face.

Pari looked up from her work to see Millie coming towards her. She set aside the dress she was working on and scooped the young girl up in a hug. "I wasn't expecting you today Millie, I thought your mother wasn't coming in until tomorrow," she said as the hug ended.

"You know my mum, she's always in a hurry for new dresses when there is an event coming," she answered, admiring the woman before her again. She thought Pari was the prettiest woman she'd ever seen, other than her mother. Like all little girls she thought her mum was the prettiest woman in the world, but Pari was a close second with her wavy black hair, brown eyes and olive skin tone. She also had a graceful way of walking that made Millie think of a princess.

Pari chuckled, that was not far off the truth. Sarah was very demanding and thought the world should bow to what she wanted and how she thought. She wasn't sure how her husband, Edwin, dealt with her. She'd heard the woman had been the cause of his daughter from his late wife to leave for an asylum. It wasn't a choice she'd want to make herself, but the woman could be insufferable.

Millie sat down next to her, her eyes looking up expectantly. "And what is it you're wanting today, my dear girl?"

"You promised me a story the next time I was in. You've told me all the stories I've heard before in my storybooks, you said you could tell me something I've never heard before," she said, smiling with anticipation of a story she'd never heard before. She liked all the stories about princesses like Snow White, but she wanted to hear something that was new.

Pari smiled as she picked up her work again, a slight sadness coming into her eyes as she thought of a story the little girl had never heard. No one knew this story; Millie would be the first to ever hear it.

"This story is long, but it will give you something to look forward to every time you come to the shop. Once upon a time, in a land similar to what you call Persia, but in a magical realm unlike this, lived a Shah. He was a good ruler, be it a bit temperamental at times, and he had a beautiful wife. They lived happily in their large palace with many servants, all of whom they were good to. The Shah and his wife were blessed with four children, although the little princess did not live long past her childhood years. This gave them a great deal of grief, but they had three children before her to help heal their hearts," she told Millie, who was listening with a rapt look on her face.

"Were the older three princesses too, and just as pretty as you are?" she inquired, the excitement dripping from her words.

Pari smiled and shook her head. "No, they were princes and each very handsome and a perfect blending of both their parents in appearance. The youngest was Faarih, a mischievous boy who loved to laugh and cause trouble for his siblings. The second was named Raheem, he was a very serene and quiet boy who enjoyed books more than people. The oldest, and next in line for the throne, had a smile that was infectious, and would do anything for his family. That prince was named Cyrus."

_AN: This will update every two weeks on Monday. I just had to write something as I was completely unimpressed with the end of **Home**. It was all great, right to the end. I am hoping we get lots more of Cyrus in the next five episodes, but I'm not holding my breath._

_Anyway, when I heard they were introducing his mother it gave me an idea, so I ran with it. I've been working on this for a couple weeks, so I hope this is enjoyable. I actually have a cover image for it but can't upload it at the moment. Hopefully by the time I come back for chapter two._

_Yes I posted this yesterday, in case anyone received a notification on it. I took it down due to massive issues I was having so hopefully this time it goes up and is visible somewhere other than my profile._


	2. Making Plans and Sibling Relationships

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

_Naseem continued to lecture his oldest son, and heir, on the way he was to act in the court. He was appalled over what he'd done and was absolutely baffled at how he'd managed it. Ever since Cyrus was a young boy he'd been terrified of snakes, so either he'd had help getting all those snakes into the dining room or he'd managed to conquer that fear. Either way, he should know better as next in line for the throne and he was nearing twenty years of age, he should have outgrown those antics years ago._

_Cyrus, despite his cool exterior, was seething. He had to stand before many nobles of the royal court, as well as some servants, and be berated as though he was a naughty child who had been caught stealing sweets out of the kitchens. How his father could even assume he had anything to do with this particular prank was beyond him; he was horrifically fearful of snakes. There was no chance he'd even consider such a trick, but he knew full well who would, and he was going to make sure Faarih paid dearly for this upbraiding he was currently on the wrong end of. He didn't care that his brother was merely fourteen years of age, it was time he left that part of his childhood behind. Cyrus was more than happy to be the push he needed as well._

_Pari looked from her oldest son to her husband, wishing she could have gotten a word in before Cyrus had been dragged into the room. She knew full well he was still scared of the reptiles, if he so much as thought he saw one he'd take any other route to his destination to avoid it. She'd even seen him freeze up at the sight of them, so this was an impossible prank for him. The fact a servant had found one of Cyrus' rings laying forgotten in the room did not condemn him as the one who had played the trick, it simply meant someone wished their father to believe it was his oldest that was to blame. She could tell by the look in her son's dark eyes that he'd figured out who was at fault, and she did not envy Faarih in the least._

"_You shall be banned from social functions, without one of us to accompany you henceforth, until I decide you are worthy of my trust. Do you understand, Cyrus?" Naseem inquired, leveling his oldest with a firm look._

_Cyrus nodded, bowing his head slightly. "I do," he said, just longing to be dismissed so he could get out of the room._

_His silent wish was granted when his father dismissed him, and he made his way out, his only thoughts on how he'd get Faarih back for this._

* * *

_Nadira was only twelve years old, but the servants entrusted to her care swore at times she was an old soul. The little girl loved to play, but at times the wisdom that came out of her mouth amazed them. They could only reason it had to do with her spending as much time as she could with her oldest brother, Cyrus._

_Faarih and Raheem were both at that age they felt they were too old to play with their youngest sister, but Cyrus spent as much time as he could with her. His duties as the crown prince often kept him away, but once he was free of it he would seek her out._

_She'd finally managed to get away from her current caretaker, growing weary of being told how she should be acting at some banquet or other, she didn't know why it was being thrown and she didn't care. It wasn't like she got to stay long past the meal; she was always sent back to her rooms to prepare for bed and missed out on the fun._

_Much to her delight she found Cyrus wandering the gardens, a distracted look on his face. She had an inkling what was bothering him; she'd heard Faarih talking about the prank he was going to pull and leave the blame on Cyrus. She really could not understand the reason her brothers took some form of delight in terrorizing each other. Faarih was the worst for it, he seemed to take far too much joy in pulling tricks on his brothers, or finding a way to get them to take the blame._

_She'd warned him once to be careful; his luck in not getting caught was going to run out. She wasn't trying to caution him that Cyrus and Raheem would figure it out, as she knew they'd let it slide, but if their parents found out he'd likely be in more trouble than he could talk his way out of. She had worried, in her twelve year old way, that one of his pranks would eventually have a backlash on one of the other siblings. He'd pulled enough that left her looking like the culprit, one day he was going to take it too far._

_From the look on their oldest brother's face, she knew one of the tricks had finally gone to that level. She'd seen their father a few moments earlier, and he looked somewhere between anger and disappointment. That had told her something had been taken much further than normal, and either Raheem or Cyrus had taken the fall. Looking at her oldest brother she could guess with absolute certainty who had shouldered the blame._

"_I can see you are having a bad day," she commented as she sat down next to him, glancing up at the sky to see the pinks and purples painting the sky at sunset._

_Cyrus said nothing at first, it was more than obvious he was choosing his words carefully. She smiled a bit; evidently their father had been after him as of late to watch what he said. He'd made the mistake of insulting a noble's daughter, not on purpose and he certainly did regret it, but he'd still been told he had to learn to pick his words with great care, being next in line for the throne. "You could say that, but it will be no worse than Faarih's once I catch him."_

"_That wasn't very diplomatic," she laughed._

_He looked over at her and smiled. "I wasn't attempting to be so; I am now to be chaperoned at all social functions as if I am a small child thanks to him. I only wish I could think of something to do to pay him back," he told her, just as they heard light footsteps behind them._

_Both siblings turned to see their mother coming towards where they were sitting by the fountain in the middle of the garden. She grinned warmly as she sat next to them, wrapping an arm around her daughter. "You know seeking revenge will get you nowhere Cyrus, it will only provoke Faahir to try harder next time," she said._

"_He needs to cease, I will be twenty years old tomorrow and thanks to him I am being treated like a small child," Cyrus protested._

_Pari smiled, wrapping her free arm around her oldest son and pulling him close. It was strange to think he would turn twenty years of age in a day's time, to her it seemed just yesterday he was learning to walk. How had her firstborn gone from a little toddler stumbling about the palace to a man in what felt like the blink of an eye?_

"_If you wish to have a bit of revenge on your brother, there is a way to do it without him realizing what you're up to," she finally suggested, laughing slightly at the curious look that crossed the faces of both Cyrus and Nadira. "Tomorrow, as there is a banquet to celebrate your birthday, your brother is intending to show his talent with a sword to some of the noble's daughters. There is one in particular he fancies. Allow him to spar with some of the other boys his age, as none of them will try to outshine him as he is a prince. When he feels he has done his best, you challenge him. He will have no choice but to accept, and as he hasn't seen you training with a sword in quite a long time he will be thoroughly surprised when you unarm him and use his sword against him. In that way, you will get your revenge and he'll be none the wiser," she explained, trying not to laugh at the wicked grin the crossed the faces of her oldest and youngest._

_Nadira started to giggle, she rather liked the idea of this. Faarih at times was a little too full of himself, and really did need to come down a notch or two. He'd been allowed too much freedom, and as many of his pranks were normally reserved for the servants they would not complain. He was well aware even his siblings would say nothing, and would rarely try to get back at him._

"_Just attempt to keep from getting hurt, as you are to meet your betrothed tomorrow night at the banquet," Pari advised, not failing to notice the slight grimace to flit across her son's face._

_Cyrus was well aware he was to meet the girl he'd been hearing about since he was barely out of childhood the next night and he was not looking forward to it. It wasn't simply because he had another young lady he was fond of, but he disliked the concept of having an arranged marriage forced upon him. He was well aware he could keep the girl around as a mistress, as it was common practice and he knew his father had a few, but Cyrus felt that was demeaning. Despite growing up around all of those practices and traditions, he did not wish to continue that one. He wasn't certain if what he felt for Nava was simply fondness or love, but he knew if he relegated her to simply a mistress after his marriage it would lessen whatever feelings he felt and make it seem cheap._

_He had mentioned this to his father months ago, when the subject of this princess had come up in conversation. Naseem had been quick to admonish his notions and opinions, angered when he'd realized these ideas had come from a king who had visited their kingdom years prior and had given his children a book of tales. These were not tales known in their land, but prevalent in some place called the Enchanted Forest. Nadira had been rather taken with them, both Faarih and Raheem hadn't cared much for the stories but it was Cyrus who had suddenly had his eyes opened to a different possibility._

_Naseem had told him, with no room for argument, that he would wed this princess in the months after his birthday, thereby securing an alliance with her kingdom and his adoration for Nava would have to be forgotten or he would just have to do as many before him. Cyrus had said nothing to that, simply nodded and asked to be excused. Evidently he would have to enjoy whatever time he had to spend with Nava as it would soon be over._

_It was more than obvious to his family that he did not like the idea of all the responsibility he was about to have lain upon his shoulders. Cyrus was not one to shirk any and all the duties he knew were required of him as the crown prince, but an arranged marriage was one he was starting to rebel against. He had been unhappy with it as he had grown older, but after reading the book of stories from another kingdom, he'd begun to reject the concept even more. _

_If there was a way he could get out of the betrothal he would, within reason of course, but he knew it was impossible. It had been arranged when he was still a child, the same as she. It was more of an alliance than anything, as most royal marriages were. He knew in time he would learn to care for her, and most likely love her. But he could not help but envy his younger siblings in a way, at least his brothers. They would not end up married to form an alliance, although Nadira ran the risk of her marriage being along those lines._

_There were days he wished all this could be someone else's responsibility. He knew full well his father had more children with some of the other women he kept around. There was one he was convinced was another son of his father's, who was close in age to himself. If only that son could be the crown prince, but he knew that was not possible. That child was not born to his wife, and even if some misfortune should befall him the throne would go to Raheem._

_He hated being the crown prince, but as he was born into the position he would fulfill it to the best of his abilities. He'd been training since he was a young boy in everything from politics to sword play, and he would not disappoint his family. He would do anything for them._

"_He won't be able to touch me if I have two swords," he finally said, noticing how his mother smiled slightly at that. Personally he wouldn't mind a slight injury to get out of the banquet, and meeting this princess from Agrabah, but he knew that would just land him in even more trouble with his father. Of course at least that time it would be his fault, but he'd had enough of being lectured to last him a few months._

_Pari shook her head, she shouldn't encourage him but she knew Faarih well enough that he'd most likely find some delight in trying to take on Cyrus when he would be wielding two swords. "Just go easy on him at first, allow him to think he has the upper hand. Nothing will wound his pride more, and in front of a girl, than thinking he was besting his oldest brother only to have you get the upper hand in the end."_

"_May I come and watch? This sounds like it will be a good laugh," Nadira inquired, her eyes bright with anticipation._

_Cyrus pulled her close and gave her a light kiss on the forehead, noting she felt a little warmer than usual. He hoped it was just from her being out in the sun most of the afternoon, and nothing serious. "Of course, I would not want it any other way. My life would be diminished without you around, my dear sister."_

* * *

"Millie!" the sharp voice of Sarah called when she walked into the shop.

The little girl jumped slightly, she was so enthralled with Pari's tale about Cyrus and Nadira she hadn't even heard the door to the little dressmaker's shop open or heard Mrs. Slater greet her mother.

Pari smiled at her, she felt rather sorry for the little girl. She knew Sarah had something against fairy tales, and had said many times she did not want her daughter to grow up with her head in the clouds. Pari didn't agree with that sentiment; her four children had grown up with all sorts of legends and folklore. Mainly the tales were of their own country, but there had been that one book of tales from another kingdom that had caused a bit of trouble. She had appreciated the gift, it had been innocent enough, but her oldest and youngest did seem to take to the ideas a little too much. Pari's marriage had been arranged, but she could sympathise with her oldest, and the fact her youngest was likely fated for the same sort of marriage.

It wasn't often she thought of her long lost children, three gone to whatever awaited after death and one lost to her. That was the one reason she'd never spoken of this story before; to tell it brought back memories she'd rather forget. She'd found a way to continue living, at the cost of seeing all she loved fade away and die. The only thing that kept her going was the hope to see her one son again, as she'd been told she would by a man with powerful magic and the ability to see the future. He was the one who had shown her how to extend her life through magic, as she longed to see Cyrus once more.

"I hope you haven't been filling her head with nonsense," Sarah drily commented, her voice a touch haughty. Pari glanced up from the dress she was sewing, almost wishing to tell the woman off. She had once been the wife of a Shah and the mother of three princes and a princess, being spoken to like some commoner bothered her, but she knew in this realm she was not royalty.

"I've merely been telling her some folk tales from my country," she answered, looking back towards the dress she was stitching. The woman certainly knew how to get under someone's skin and she wondered, yet again, how her husband could stand her. It was little wonder his oldest daughter had left for an asylum.

"It is an amazing story mum," Millie began to say, only to have Sarah hush her with the wave of a hand.

"That's nice darling, we should get going though. There is a lot to see to at home for your birthday party next week, but we'll be back tomorrow so you can be fitted for the new dress for the occasion," she said, her voice taking on a softer tone.

Millie took her mother's hand, and waved good bye to Pari, a bright smile on her face. She was more excited to return the next day to hear more about the princes and princess than she was for her birthday party.

* * *

Will was not speaking, and there was precious little that would get him to talk to anyone in the room. He would talk to Alice though, so he supposed it wasn't a case of he wasn't speaking, he was just choosing who he felt was worth wasting breath on. Alice had done nothing to anger him, other than leave him in that bloody bottle longer than there was need for, but even that he couldn't blame her for as it was at Cyrus' insistence that she left him in there.

He was undecided who he harboured more anger towards: Anastasia or Cyrus. The anger with Anastasia was older, and the wounds from what she had done still stung as if they were freshly made. He knew he should have moved on by now, but when it is the one you felt was your true love, the one you would spend your life with and you thought loved you back just as deeply, it hurt to be shun for another. And it wasn't just anyone, but a king.

He had always thought Anastasia was better than most girls. She wouldn't be swayed by sparkling jewels and beautiful gowns, but evidently he'd been wrong. He wondered at times if she'd wanted to steal the crown jewels to ensure them a decent life back in the Enchanted Forest, or if she was just trying to find a way to fulfill what her mother had always wanted for her in life. When she'd appeared on that balcony, he couldn't help but think it was the latter over the former. How radiant she'd looked, a smile that he thought was reserved only for him gracing her face.

She had looked beautiful, every bit the queen he'd always considered her. She didn't need ball gowns and jewels to make herself stand out from the rest. To him, she'd been his world and he would have gladly done anything for her.

But not now, he'd be damned if he'd lift a finger to help her, and he most certainly was not going to speak to her if he had no reason. Let Alice speak for him, but he would not waste any breath on the two timing little snipe. It didn't matter to him what she'd been prepared to do just to have him back, even if Alice had admitted it was quite the gesture. It was, but in the long run she was willing to ruin another's happiness, and possible end the life of the genies required for the spell, all to have back what she'd lost. To Will, there was no forgiving her.

Then there was Cyrus. Part of Will was more than happy he'd taken the bonds back from him, he didn't want to be a genie and that had been far from his intent with that wish. Looking back, he really should have worded it better. Cyrus had told him to be careful what he wished for, and goodness knows he'd know better than any of them how wishes could go wrong. He just felt fortunate the wish hadn't ended Alice's suffering by ending her life. If that had happened he was fairly certain he'd be hoping Cyrus would be drawn back into his bottle and fast, or else he'd have found himself meeting a quick end over the slow death he'd been suffering with.

He might be grateful that the genie had taken that life back from him, but it didn't mean he wasn't angry at him. The man had insisted on leaving him in that bottle, and for what purpose? He'd been left alone in there, with absolutely nothing to do. It was maddening. He'd found a few books, but they were all in a language he couldn't understand, the only thing he'd found that had amused him from time to time was a book that had sketches in it.

When he'd first realized he had somehow switched places with Cyrus he'd been surprised to find a few of the genie's personal items still in the bottle. He figured since the bottle technically was his home, it would somehow revert to what he'd need, although he was pretty sure there would be no television reception in Wonderland, or wherever he'd end up. Instead he'd found those books, and the one with the sketches. Most of them were of a young girl, who bore a resemblance to Cyrus. It seemed he'd delighted in drawing whoever this person was, but for reasons Will could not comprehend they never seemed to go past her reaching late childhood. There were drawings of two boys, both older in age than the girl from what he could tell, as well as one or two of an older man, and finally a woman. Like the young girl, Cyrus drew her quite a bit as well. Will had even found one or two sketches that looked like the genie himself, making him wonder if Cyrus had created an imaginary life to keep himself amused all those years locked away in the bottle.

It did make him wonder about the mental stability of the person in question, but he couldn't exactly blame him for wanting to make up some dream life to occupy himself all those years spent alone. He knew he had been reaching the point he was ready to carry on lively conversations with himself to fill the time, and that had only been in the span of a few weeks. He couldn't even begin to imagine how he'd handle years on end locked away in there.

The book of sketches did help him out, he started to create stories for the people he saw in the book, and tried to imagine what Cyrus could have been thinking when he drew these people. He'd obviously created himself a family, in his mind at any rate. Although with the recent revelation, he started to wonder if those drawings had been the genie's family. If he had been human at some point, he must've had a family that he'd cared about.

He wasn't about to ask though, he was angry at both Anastasia and Cyrus, both for different reasons but he was anything if not stubborn. Anastasia had tried to speak with him a few times, but he just brushed her off. Thankfully Cyrus hadn't even tried. He seemed to have enough to deal with when it came to Alice.

Will didn't envy him that, in the least. It was another reason he was angry with Cyrus; he hadn't even talked about his plans with the woman he claimed to love. To him, that was shades of what Anastasia had done to him, and it was unforgivable.

But he knew Alice would forgive Cyrus, because she always did the right thing.

* * *

Jafar was not a man to make a rash decision. There were times his actions could be mistaken for such, but even then he'd calculated the risk in what he had planned, and the chance of success. He would not willingly make a mistake or misstep when he had his mind set on a course of action.

He also wasn't one easily fooled; he had always known the Red Queen was a weak willed woman. All women were, in his opinion. They could never be trusted to stick to anything, and he'd known that there was always a chance she'd turn on him. She may have delivered up the last genie to him, but it didn't mean he trusted her to not eventually change her colours.

That was why, despite her questioning, he'd never disclosed much information on any of the genies required for the spell. She'd figured out the purpose of the first genie, any simpleton could: the first genie known in existence, making it the most powerful. All genies were powerful, he had explained, but none held as much power as that one. The second wasn't actually a genie that stayed within one region, as he'd told her. Genies were beings that had elemental qualities, but this one was rare; it was born of all four: fire, air, earth and water. There were more in the world like that, but they were hard to come by. And of course, the spell called for three particular genies, so he'd been required to obtain that particular one. It had taken quite a bit of travel, but he'd found the genie needed and taken it. There had been some bloodshed, but in the end it was worth it in his eyes.

Just like the first two, the last to be acquired was very particular as well. Jafar knew there were genies that had once been mortal; if a human unknowingly came upon a genie with a malicious nature, the master could easily be tricked into taking the genie's place. But this mortal turned genie had not been one of those unfortunate souls; he had willingly become a genie. Jafar always marvelled at that, whilst chiding the idea of giving up one's mortal life all for the sake of love. That was what made the third so important: his capacity for love and his belief in it. That genie had a strong faith in love, and he was the third required to break the laws of magic.

The one thing Jafar knew, once he got a hold of that one again, he'd be sure he could not escape a second time. Cyrus had made a fool of him, he'd tricked him with the bandersnatch and obviously starving the genie hadn't been enough to stop him from discovering a way to escape, and killing one of his guards in the process.

He'd had the silver cage repaired, and this time there would be no getting out for Cyrus, he'd made sure of that. The guards were also out for blood, which he was more than happy to let them have, so long as it didn't kill the prisoner. That was one thing Jafar was not sure of, how much a genie could take before they would cease to exist. With his goal so close at hand, it was not something he was willing to risk discovering either, so he'd instructed them to be mindful of the well being of Cyrus. Make him pay, but do not kill him or else they'd be next in line to find out what lay in the great beyond.

Jafar grinned as he heard someone enter the room. It was some peasant man of no importance, a former subject of the Red Queen. Like he did with all who aided him in his quest he had promised the man whatever his heart desired. He had little intention of following through, unless it was something of slight consequence of course. So long as the man could locate that insipid queen and clever little genie, that was all that mattered. Rewards, or lack thereof, could be dealt with later.

"What information do you have for me, and it had better be reliable. I am not a man to be toyed with," he snarled, leveling the man with an icy glare.

The stout man stood in the doorway, reminding Jafar very much of the White Rabbit when he was caught in a bad situation, worrying his cap in his work worn hands. "I've heard from reliable sources she's in the outlands still, like your storm cloud showed you," he muttered, evidently intimidated by the sorcerer.

Jafar stood from where he was sitting and sneered, he already knew that. Why was he promising these fools anything when all they could do was regurgitate information he already knew? "Has it occurred to you I already know this? You might want to remember I have no issue removing appendages to teach you a lesson, you simpering fool," he roared, stalking over to where the man stood.

"But you don't know they are hiding!" the man exclaimed in a panic. "By a large rock, there is a hidden home! A friend of mine knows the Caterpillar and he was there when the genie came and traded something of value for the magic to create this place."

This piece of information was interesting, and stayed Jafar's hand from removing some vital limb from the man. A hidden home; that did sound like something the genie might come up with, with the help of magic from someone else. He knew Cyrus would do anything for those he cared about, right down to sacrificing himself. Giving up something of value did sound just like him, the fool. And of course he hadn't been smart enough to be sure no one would be able to hand out that little bit of information either.

Jafar smirked and told the man to leave while he was in a good humour, something that did not need to be repeated. He walked back over to where his books were strewn about the table. If the genie had wanted to make a deal to help protect Alice he should have done it in secret, not in a place where people would be able to overhear the conversation.

Jafar grinned; all he had to do was figure out a way to at least capture the genie again. He could recall the genie had a certain aversion to his snake staff; he'd always eyed it with a hint of fear in his eyes. Jafar had wondered at first if he was just concerned of what sort of pain could be inflicted with it or the magic endued within, but slowly began to realize Cyrus was actually afraid of the creature it was fashioned after.

Capturing the genie would be easy, knowing he had more weaknesses other than just his ability to love, and his misplaced need to protect those he cared about. Jafar knew he may only manage to get his hands on Cyrus, yet again, and have to work to get the bottle and the last wish, but nothing worthwhile ever came easy.

* * *

Cyrus rested his head in his hands and sighed. His head was beginning to swim, he could understand Alice was angry but this argument beat out any they'd ever had before.

Their relationship was far from perfect; once he'd become accustom to the concept of voicing an opinion, they'd argued from time to time. His belief that she could never do anything wrong, in his eyes, still held true though. Arguing didn't mean there was something wrong with her, or even him, it was just part of a normal, healthy relationship. That thought never failed to amuse him slightly when it occurred to him, given the consideration he was a genie so that might contradict the concept of their relationship being normal. Either way, despite his belief Alice was perfect they still argued from time to time, sometimes it was minor verbal sparring, other times it was raised voices and hurt feelings that led to apologizes later for what was said in the spur of the moment.

But this one, he didn't know how to talk his way out of it. He couldn't have talked this decision over with her first, as he didn't want to disclose much of his past to her. The time she'd asked about his mother had been more than he'd ever wanted her to know; she thought he'd come into existence as a genie and he had wanted it to stay that way. It wouldn't have given her any notions he could one day be mortal once more. Now that she knew even a hint of his origins, he was well aware once in awhile when she was looking at him, she was trying to figure out if there was a way for him to mortal again. It was in those moments he would mentally kick himself for keeping that compass on him, he should have left it in his bottle. But then, he'd had no reason to believe at first she'd be the first to not send him back to his bottle after releasing him. He'd hoped she'd see him as something other than a possession, but he didn't expect it.

He knew there was a way he could be freed, but sadly he had no idea what it was. The sorcerer who had turned him into a genie had never explained it to him, and sadly he had never even thought to ask, he was far too concerned with the task he had at hand.

There was also the fact he did not want Alice to know he'd once been royalty. It had been enough of a come down to go from a prince to a slave, and there was no other word for what he was. He knew Alice wouldn't make too much of a fuss over that knowledge, after all she didn't pester him again for more information on his mother, sensing he didn't want to talk about it. She'd likely be shocked but he just had no desire for her to know. He was no longer a prince and never would be one again. At best, he'd have a few more decades with her before going back to being at the mercy of the race he once counted himself one of.

As well, he could not handle the pity that might shine in her eyes every time she'd look at him after that revelation.

"Cyrus, you haven't answered my question," Alice said, her tone flat. She could tell he was deep in some thoughts, but she really wanted him to acknowledge her inquiry.

He had been the one person she felt she could count on, the one person who would never let her down or hurt her as badly as others had in the past. She knew her father had not intentionally meant to hurt her, not when he disbelieved her ramblings about Wonderland or with his second marriage and his new family.

In retrospect, she could see how insane her Wonderland stories could have sounded. Not when she was a child though, he could have chalked that up to an over active imagination and let it go. If he had, she might not have spent so much time going back to find proof. But there was no way to change the past; she couldn't even wish it changed.

The new family, it was a normal progression she supposed. She had a habit of vanishing and time moved differently between England and Wonderland. Anytime she returned she really had no way of telling how much time had passed without asking, or finding a newspaper to check the date. She thought he'd never move on from her mother, but obviously she was wrong.

That didn't excuse his treatment of her when she'd returned heartbroken over the death of the one she loved. She could understand now how insane she must have sounded, even more when she insisted her love was a genie, but he could have just smiled and comforted her. All she wanted was for him to hold her and assure her that the pain would lessen as time went by. She had longed for him to listen to her when she cried out for Cyrus, and just be there.

But that never happened; the only one who seemed to want to listen to her was Millie. She tried to support her when she could, in her child like way, but Sarah was against any talk of fanciful things. Alice would never call the woman by the title mother, as she did not deserve to be thought of as such. No mother would push her into meeting other men when she was in mourning. If they did not want to believe Cyrus had existed, they could have humoured her.

It had been Sarah's idea she go to the asylum, and although she was loathed to go to the place, it had gotten her away from the controlling and suffocating woman.

But at that moment the problem wasn't her father, or even Sarah; the problem was Cyrus had not even spoken to her about what he'd planned to do. She thought he was happy, he'd been overjoyed when he'd realized his binds were gone. She could feel his joy radiating off him, he was finally free to be his own person without the constant fear one day she'd be gone and he'd be a prisoner once more. In a way she was protecting him from what the world expected out of him, the same way he protected her. They could both hold their own, but it was a comfort to know the other was there.

She sat down next to him, pulling his hands away from his face which he was keeping hidden from her. This was a strange antic out of him; she could never recall seeing him trying to keep her from seeing any emotions that could be read in his eyes or his facial expression. It worried her a bit, but she still could not completely let go of her anger at what he'd done. "Please, just tell me why you did this," she pleaded, forcing him to look at her.

Cyrus sighed, there had to be a way to appease her, without giving away too much. "You asked about my mother once, she is the reason I am what I am now. She was sick, very sick and would have died. The disease which she was suffering from I had already seen waste away the life of another, and I could not allow it to tear my family apart. My mother was the center of our family, she held us all together. I could not stand by and allow her to die, so I struck a deal with a sorcerer who was well known where I lived: the cure for the disease for my mortal life. I didn't think twice, only asked I be able to stay with her until she was cured. He was merciful enough in that; he turned me into a genie, gave me my bottle and sent me home with the cure. He allowed me to see her back to health, and gave me the kindness to give my bottle to someone before I was drawn into it, making it my choice who my first master would be. It is a life I agreed to, and I cannot allow someone else to suffer it."

"You're very noble, but rather foolish. We could have found a way to free Will without you switching places with him. There must have been a way to word another wish that would have done it," she insisted, holding both his hands in hers. If Will's wish had somehow freed him, why didn't he consider another could have freed the Knave?

"Alice, that is not possible. Nature abhors a vacuum; in order to free a genie you must have another take their place. I didn't replace another, that bottle had never held a genie before I was put in it. When he said that wish, for some reason my magic decided on that outcome. If you'd wished him free, you likely would have become a genie in return, but it is hard to say. Genie magic is tricky at best. I've heard of some genies being freed without someone taking their place, and it always ends with the most tragic results, therefore someone had to take your friend's place. If there had been another way you know I would have taken it," he explained, just as she let go of his hands and stood up. He didn't bother to mention he'd felt a less than benevolent aura radiate off Will when he'd been released. Will's lack of heart could have very well twisted him as the years went by, until he'd become the type of genie that would have tricked a master into taking his place.

He hardly knew the man, but did not want to see him go down that path, the sooner he was freed from that life was for the better. He could tell Will had a good spirit, and it would only be distorted as the years went by if he'd stayed locked away in that bottle.

Alice was angry, and he could feel the emotion rolling off her in waves. He couldn't blame her either, but he longed for her to see reason. They'd all been through a lot and hardly anyone had a completely clear head. She had to know he'd have found another way to free her friend if he could have found one.

"You could have talked to me first! This decision was one that affects both of us, yet you just made the choice yourself, did you even give any thought to my wishes when you did this? How could you be so selfish?" she accused, her eyes glazing over with tears she was trying valiantly not to shed.

At that accusation Cyrus couldn't even begin to form words. It had been a selfish choice, he could recognize that. Maybe he should have spoken with her, but what was there to discuss? Her friend had ended up in that bottle, and if Jafar found it before they did, or even acquired it at some point from them, the chance was high he would kill the person inside if the spell required the genie that had been imprisoned in that bottle and not the replacement. Cyrus wasn't stupid; there was a good chance if and when Jafar caught up with them, whatever he had planned could end in his own death. A small, selfish part of him had wanted to leave the Knave in the bottle and readjust to being mortal again, but he couldn't. He knew the man was important to both women, and he could just imagine how distressing it must've been to realize he'd been turned into a genie.

"I'm sorry Alice, there isn't much more I can say. I regret hurting you, it was never my intent," he told her, standing and reaching out to take her hands in his.

To his surprise, she moved away from him. It was obvious a few words were not going to do the trick this time, and he was at a loss for what else he could do. Jafar would be coming, he couldn't exactly find somewhere amazing to show her, as a way to appease her for his decision. He had a feeling if he told her more of his past she may well forgive him a touch, but even then he wasn't sure. "Sometimes, Alice, the good of the many is more important than the needs of just one."

"I don't care," she answered in a small voice, sorrow dripping from her voice. She could understand where he was coming from, in a way, but it still hurt.

She was glad Will was free again, and still his cynical self despite Cyrus wishing him back his heart. She had to admit she was secretly pleased he'd made that wish. He still hadn't told her what the other wish was he'd made, she knew Will had his heart back and the last wish was more than obvious, but whatever else he'd wished for she had no idea what it could have been.

Anastasia watched them, her heart breaking a bit. Everyone thought she was cold and void of emotion but in truth she wasn't; she'd just closed herself off to keep from being hurt. It was easier than allowing people in. She fancied in a way her and Will had done the same thing, only he'd made sure not to put his heart in whilst she'd tried to stop using hers.

But after what she'd done at the Boiling Sea she had actually begun to feel some regret. The way they'd fought for one another, it made her think of Will. She remembered how he would have done anything for her at one time, and how badly she wanted that back. In truth, she would have rather have just had her men drag Cyrus away; she hadn't expected him to fight back the way he had. Tossing him over that cliff had been risky; she knew Jafar was waiting below but she had to hope he would catch the genie.

Something about the genie's devotion to Alice had begun to reawaken the feelings she'd buried upon marrying the king. As a queen, she'd had to close herself off to almost everyone. She had never loved her husband, she cared about him of course and had grown to love him as a friend eventually, but it was not a romantic love. She had never had close friends in her position either; she could never be sure who could be trusted with a confidence. And so, closing herself off from people and making them believe she was a heartless woman was better than letting herself be hurt.

When she'd aligned herself with Jafar she'd delighted at what he had planned. The first two genies meant nothing to her; they were just objects to be kept on a shelf. Cyrus, on the other hand, she could put a face to.

She tried to ignore any emotions she had begun to feel, the regret that was simmering below the surface of her calm demeanour. Instead she taunted him and terrorized him with everything she was going to help Jafar do to Alice. She'd delighted in it, even if half the time he gave her no reaction. That was until the day she'd been there and one of the guards had jostled his cage for fun, knocking him up against the silver bars.

The cry of pain as his instincts took over and he'd grabbed the silver bars, causing his skin to burn, had suddenly given her pause for thought. The other two genies were nothing to her, so their fate had meant little. They were just magical beings, and even though Cyrus was one as well, she was starting to see him as a person. He had a personality, he had emotions and he could feel pain. Jafar and the guard had snickered at his reaction, she had tried to smile at his pain but inside she started to feel the cold queen she had become slowly begin to fade away and the girl she'd once been take over.

And then Jafar had made the mistake of turning Will to stone. He could inflict pain on anyone else all he liked, she didn't actually find much enjoyment in watching it, but that had been the last straw for her. Having to convince Alice to help her get the magic dust had been hard; lying about why she wanted it wasn't difficult though. There was no chance she'd let Alice know she still harboured any feelings for Will.

But, Alice had helped her and she had promised her the genie. It was rather shocking to find he'd escaped. She did admire his determination though, even if he'd just put a hitch in her plans. He'd been hard enough to find the first time, she was fairly certain he'd be even more elusive the second time around and of course she had to find him before Jafar.

In the end, her plan had worked, in a way. It took awhile, but Alice had her genie back and she had Will. Sort of anyway, neither of the situations were ideal, but at least they were all together and all it would take was time to heal over the wounds, some would take longer than others.

She glanced over to Alice and Cyrus again; their argument was going in circles. Neither was going to win out, and obviously they both were too stubborn to notice. She did notice on thing; Cyrus was being very careful with his words and almost diplomatic in some of the things he said. It made her wonder who he was before he was a genie, as Jafar never told her much and even when she asked if he'd been mortal at one time, as she'd concluded on her own, he wouldn't confirm it.

Will was just sitting up against a wall, not really listening to anything, which annoyed her a bit. The least he could do is talk to her but she supposed he was still upset and that was going to take time, or a lot of yelling, to work through. But this other argument was starting to get under her skin; yes Cyrus should have talked to Alice first but there really were no other options. She hated he had to give up his happiness, but she understood his reasoning and where he'd been coming from with it, and she knew deep down Alice did as well, she was just hurting and had to take it out on someone. It was always the ones you loved that you hurt the most.

She noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and walked towards the bed. Cyrus had left his mother's compass lying there, either by accident or design, she wasn't sure. She picked it up and watched as it spun about, never stopping long enough to show anyone where the object they desired was located.

It would be easy to conclude that it had stopped pointing him to the direction of his mother if she had died, but another thought came to Anastasia. There were so many realms, what if it had stopped because mother and son had been separated not by death, but one leaving for another world completely? Cyrus had already been wished into Wonderland from where he originally hailed from; maybe his mother had gone from that realm to another as well.

"Would you please lower your voices darlings, I'm trying to think," she snapped, waving towards Alice and Cyrus whose voices had become raised in their heated argument.

Both of them looked over to her, instantly falling silent. Even Will stood from where he was seated to walk over to see what she was up to. She waved her hand over the compass, to see if she could use magic to make it stop, but it continued to spin. This furthered her assumption that maybe it had stopped pointing because they had been separated due to one leaving for another realm.

"Do you remember when it stopped pointing?" she inquired, to which Cyrus shook his head.

"No, I have no way to tell the passage of time when I'm in my bottle," he told her, curious as to where she was going with her question.

Will snickered. "Yeah Ana, there is no calendar in there."

She looked up at her the object of her affections, anger sparkling in her blue eyes. "Do not call me Ana, you have no right to that name for the moment. I am Anastasia to you."

He raised his hands up in a mock surrender, rather frustrated he'd heard her tell Cyrus he could call her Ana. He supposed that had something to do with him trusting her right before everything had gone to hell on them.

Alice glanced down at the compass in Anastasia's hand, watching as it continuously changed the direction it was spinning in. It almost seemed as though it couldn't decide which way to point; it was trying to find what Cyrus longed to locate but simply could not determine which way it was to send him. "I can tell you have a plan," she simply stated, glancing from the compass towards the former Red Queen.

Anastasia nodded, a slight grin playing on her red lips. "I do. Did it stop before you arrived in Wonderland, Cyrus, and was that the first time you had ever been to a different realm?" she asked.

"I've been to many lands, but that was the first time I'd ever been sent to a different realm completely. It stopped pointing before I came here, but I cannot tell you how long before," he answered.

Her slight grin blossomed into a bright smile; she might be able to make amends after all. She'd tried with Alice, by bringing her Cyrus and she knew with Will it would take a lot more than a few well meant words. With Cyrus, she wanted to help him find his mother, or discover what had become of her. There was a good chance she had already passed away, but it could bring him closure to know for certain where she was, either alive or her final resting place.

She might finally be able to atone for all her mistakes, one small step at a time.

_AN: First, thank you ever so much for the reviews. I've been a little worried with posting this one, as it feels very ambitious to me so I am hoping it continues to be enjoyable._

_Also beyond happy to find there are more out there who were not pleased with the way **Home** ended, it felt like a pointless plot twist, to me at any rate, and I hope it is reversed. I don't want bad things to happen to Cyrus of course, but they've built up enough of his importance as the third genie so it seemed beyond pointless, to me. I hope they reverse it, I'm not against freedom for Cyrus if they do it right. The fact he stated (I'm assuming he meant himself) he's been freed before with poor results kind of makes me think this won't last. They've spent so much time developing and focusing on the Knave, I worry with this if it isn't reversed Cyrus will still be pushed aside and it is a shame, as he's a very intriguing and interesting character. If they don't keep him and Alice around for the original show, or another adventure with them next year, they've done the character a huge disservice._

_As to romantic scenes...I am hoping this means along the lines of what we've seen already between Alice and Cyrus on the show? I hope anyway, I don't write the other type._

_This is a day early as I might be too busy tomorrow to post, but the next update will be February 4th. :) I have a few other stories on the go, that is why I'm doing a update of every two weeks, until this one is complete, then I will likely change it to every week._

_Thank you for reading, and I hope it continues to be enjoyable._


	3. Finding a Common Ground

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

_Also, there is an allusion to physical violence in this chapter, as well as a sword fight that ends poorly for one participant. Nothing graphic, but thought I should put a warning out there._

"And where are we going to find this rabbit?" Will inquired as he followed Alice through a wooded area. Night was beginning to fall on Wonderland and he was less than enthusiastic about traipsing about looking for the White Rabbit. "He said to his better half to go to some other family member's place and well, rabbits tend to have big families. Huge. Never mind they only have two bunnies at the moment..."

Alice groaned, she loved Will like a brother but there were times she really longed for him to stop talking. He didn't seem to realize a simple 'where are we going' would have sufficed without the running commentary as they walked to their destination. There were times she didn't mind his babbling, or even his somewhat cynical outlook on life, as she knew everyone had different experiences that shaped them, but once in awhile quiet would be nice.

"I know where we're going," she told him shortly, still slightly annoyed with everything that had transpired since she'd been reunited with Cyrus. He'd told her life with him would not be easy, and it seemed he wasn't too far off the mark with that. Just when she thought they were going to finally have their happy ending it all was torn away from them again.

It just didn't seem fair, but she had to hold on to hope somehow it would all work out. She'd sworn upon returning to Wonderland she'd find a way to free him for good, but it had to be in a way that wouldn't cost anyone. That was the problem; he'd explained it ended poorly for both parties and evidently the only other option was for someone else to take his place. That didn't seem right either, why should someone else suffer that life just to free another?

"You still think too loudly," Will quipped as he jogged up beside her. He could tell she was lost in thought just by the way she was walking, during their travels through Wonderland to find her genie he'd noticed when she was engrossed in her own musings she would waver a bit from her straight path. It always amused him when it happened, but it was getting dark and he'd rather not get turned around.

Alice startled slightly and glanced to her right to find Will looking at her with concern in his eyes. She smiled slightly, shaking her head. "I guess old habits die hard," she laughed.

Will shrugged; at least he'd taken her mind off all her anger. "Seems that way. I guess we've all got them."

Alice found that statement a bit odd. By the tone in his voice she could tell he didn't just mean her way of thinking too loudly for his liking, or the fact he had to talk to fill the quiet. She turned down a path between some trees, knowing they were closing in on their destination, but slowed her pace a bit to get in some conversation with Will. "I'm guessing your time in that bottle opened your eyes up a bit."

Will nodded slightly. It had been quite the experience, to say the least. Not only had he been convinced he was going to be insane by the time he got back out, but there was all the strange thoughts that rushed through his mind. He was not someone to take orders, ever, or feel like he should be submissive to someone else. He would never look upon someone else as his better, and the last thing he ever wanted to do was make sure someone was pleased. If he ran upon someone who wasn't happy with whatever he'd done for them at some point in time, that wasn't his problem.

Yet now he had that thought in the back of his mind, no matter how much he tried to push it aside. He knew it had nothing to do with having his heart back; this was something to do with being a genie. It actually bothered him slightly he could see where Cyrus was coming from in this whole mess. "You know I would always take your side in anything, because we're good mates, but this is one time I have to say I can see Cyrus' side. There was no other option, and even though I still think he's a self sacrificing fool, I'm glad he switched our places back."

"That almost sounded heartfelt. I guess that has something to do with having your heart back?" she asked, her voice a little tight. She knew there had been no other option, and Cyrus had done the only thing possible in the situation. That didn't stop her from being a little resentful he'd done it without talking to her first, and that it effectively put him back in danger.

Will shrugged, glancing up at the starlit sky. "Yeah well, you know me. If you want the truth I likely would have talked someone into trading places with me anyway so it was a good thing it was Cyrus who decided to let me out to play. But it sure was an eye opener on what sort of life he's had. Sure I didn't have more than one person summon me, but I still have all these annoying notions of making sure someone is happy and wanting to keep the person who summoned me pleased. Rather glad it was a short lived thing, seeing as it isn't a strong desire, but I can imagine with him it is a way of life. He likely wanted you to be happy, and if Jafar had come along you'd have lost two people you cared for instead of just one. I'm not saying I agree with him doing all this without talking to you first, but I actually understand it. In the long run, no matter how much you both talked it over you know full well there was no other option."

Alice stopped in her tracks, the sound of the sorcerer's name making her chest tighten with fear. That was her biggest concern; she didn't want to lose anyone but she knew Jafar would be coming sooner or later. She hoped it would be later, long after they'd left Wonderland and hopefully this time he'd be unable to locate Cyrus. She didn't know what role the man she loved played in this spell he wanted to cast, and she didn't want to know. The outcome would bode ill for everyone that much was certain.

Will noticed the change in attitude and suggested they find the White Rabbit and quickly. Somehow he knew Jafar would be coming soon, and he'd rather they all get out of Wonderland together and hopefully put all this behind them.

He still had no desire to go anywhere with Anastasia, but he didn't tell Alice that. He could deal with that after they were all out of danger, even though he had his doubts Cyrus would be leaving with them. Jafar was determined; he would do anything to get to what he wanted, and unfortunately what he wanted was Cyrus and the wishes.

It was then he felt another pang in his heart, and this one wasn't from old wounds. He pushed it down, trying not to think that he'd actually had a bit of fear that Jafar would go after Anastasia when he realized who now held the genie's will.

* * *

Jafar grinned as he took in the sight of the repaired cage in his dungeon. Cyrus would not be escaping this time, unless he was intent on finding out how long it took for silver to char his skin.

It was possible this time he was being horrifically cruel. Since the genie had managed to cut a hole in the bottom of the cage, due to it being the only part that wasn't silver, he'd made sure the entire thing was made of the metal this time. He was doing one kindness, making sure there was a blanket left for Cyrus to keep something between himself and the silver, but he certainly wasn't going to leave him any chance of escape.

His eyes roved up towards his other lone prisoner, almost wishing he could find some way of punishing him further for encouraging Cyrus in his foolish antics. But then, he'd killed Mirza right before the sultan's eyes and imprisoned him, which would be quite a demeaning change in status.

"Soon you shall have a break, old man, from your daily toils," he taunted, grinning widely at the thought of finally having the genie back in his possession. It bothered him he'd still have to get the bottle and force Alice into her last wish, but he was sure he could manage to create a situation to force the girl to use it. He would not risk making her feel coerced into that wish with Cyrus close by, or his bottle as then she'd be able to escape with him in hand.

The sultan, Aamir, looked at the sorcerer skeptically. He'd known sooner or later he'd be seeing Cyrus again, but he didn't care much for the implication that Jafar was going to allow the guards to harm the genie as pay back for killing one of their own. "How do you plan to monitor the treatment your guards bestow upon Cyrus? They have a habit of becoming overzealous in the heat of the moment and I assume killing him would ruin your plans."

Jafar laughed, a rather mocking and cruel sound that would not leave room for anyone to assume he was amused. "You would be amazed how well the threat of bodily harm does to keep someone in line. It obviously didn't work on the genie, but he's a fool. Dreaming of a life he can never have again, but soon he'll remember his place in the world for however long his life extends after the spell is cast," he stated, as he turned and marched out of the room.

There were plans to make, and a few spell books to consult. It was a child's trick to create the one thing that would stop Cyrus in his tracks, freezing him with fear, but Jafar would not risk messing up the spell in the heat of the moment.

Cyrus would not get away from him this time; he was going to be certain of that.

* * *

Millie grinned as she dashed into the dress shop, ready to be fitted for her new dress and hear more of Pari's story about Nadira, Cyrus, Faarih and Raheem. She could hardly stop thinking about the tale the woman had begun the day previous, and had had a very hard time not talking about it with her mother on the ride home. It was absolutely fascinating and so different from all the fairy tales she was used to hearing from some friends, as her mother kept those sorts of books out of the house.

Sarah had even fired a governess she'd had years previous, all for telling the tale of Cinderella to her one sun soaked afternoon in the garden. Millie had a feeling she wasn't allowed fanciful tales because of Alice, which upset her slightly. The brief time she'd been around her older sister had been some of the happiest, even if Alice was mourning the death of the man she loved. Millie had thrilled when her father had slipped up and said the man was actually a genie who had escaped from an evil sorcerer. It was exciting to think that Wonderland was real, and now even her father had been there.

Millie grinned widely when Pari walked over with her dress in hand. Sarah had left her there for the few hours it would take to have the dress altered and fitted just right, as it was a well known fact Millie was fussy and could never make up her mind on anything. And this time she intended to be fussier than usual.

"What happened with Faarih? Did Cyrus show him up?" she asked in an excited whisper as Pari helped her up onto a stool to give her some height.

A sadness flitted through Pari's dark eyes at the sound of her children's names, but Millie didn't notice it in her excitement. "He did, much to the youngest prince's misfortune and their father's displeasure," she answered, laughing slightly to ward off her sadness. Although when she thought it over, it wasn't exactly something to laugh over. What a mess that incident had been.

Maybe this wasn't the best story to be telling, but it had been so long ago she felt maybe it was time to allow her children to live on through a story. One day Millie would have children of her own and possibly tell the story of these three princes, not aware that one of them was actually still very much alive, just lost to his mother.

Millie tried to stand still as Pari continued her tale, hoping against hope she'd get quite a bit of it in before her mother returned. In the evenings after tea and her mother retired for the night she wanted to continue telling it to her father. He'd taken great interest in the tale, and had given a strange look when she'd said one of the prince's was named Cyrus.

It was almost as though he should know the name, but he couldn't tell from where.

* * *

"_You're going to be late," Nava laughed as Cyrus gave her a quick kiss on the forehead._

_He pulled back and smiled at her, his eyes twinkling. He longed to deny it, but he was falling in love with her and he knew he couldn't afford to. That night he'd be meeting his future wife and he refused to follow in his father's footsteps, as well as the long line of Shahs before him, and keep a harem of mistresses. He cared too much for Nava to degrade her in such a way. She deserved more than that and there were many other young men who longed to court her and give her the proper life he could not. "I think Faarih deserves to think he's impressed whoever this girl is for awhile," he answered, trying to kiss her again._

_Nava put her hands up against his shoulders and gave him a slight push away, feeling bad when he looked at her confused. He pulled away, trying to hide the hurt from showing on his face. "Cyrus, you know there are only two options in our relationship and we need to stop this now."_

_He sighed, he was well aware he was going to have to begin seeing less of her soon, which would be hard as she did often frequent court life. That was another reason he wouldn't keep her as a mistress; she was actually a high born lady and he was fairly certain that wasn't allowed. He wasn't sure; as he'd never given it much thought and wouldn't dare ask his father. Naseem might take that as his oldest finally starting to tow the line in all that was expected of him and that was one thing he refused to take part in. If he was to marry this princess then he would commit to only her, like in the book he'd read from that far off kingdom._

"_You and Nadira really should have burned that book instead of reading it," she said, reaching out and taking his hands in hers She had seen the princess reading the stories one day and had shook her head, it really had put foolish thoughts into the oldest and youngest of the royal siblings. "It has brought neither of you any happiness. It is well and good for those born as royals in the Enchanted Forest may more often than not marry for love, but you know that isn't possible for you and most likely Nadira will have the same fate as you when it comes to marriage. I love you dearly Cyrus, but you know we must end this now."_

_Cyrus smiled sadly, nodding in agreement. Yet another reason he hated his position, why couldn't he have been the second born? Or simply born into a different family? He knew Raheem held a lot of envy over the fact he was the crown prince and it had affected their relationship in the past year. "I suppose we should say our farewells now, as this princess has arrived but I am not to meet her until tonight," he stated, trying to keep the note of sadness out of his voice._

_He really did hate the fact it was his birthday and there was nothing he could do about this arranged marriage. He glanced at Nava who was smiling at him sadly. "I do wish you all the best in life, Nava. I hope you do find someone who will give you all the happiness I regretfully cannot," he softly said, lifting one of her hands up to lightly kiss it._

_She didn't say anything in return, just smiled as he stood and walked away from her. With a sigh she got up from her seated position and walked out of the secluded garden in the large courtyard, trying to find a good reason not to attend the festivities that night. She'd known this day would be the end of their relationship, and she did not wish to see him with this princess he was meant to marry._

_Unbeknownst to either of them, someone had been hiding in the shadows observing them. The young woman couldn't help herself when she'd realized who she'd found, if she was meant to marry him she wanted to know something of his character._

_In a way she found some comfort in knowing that he was as enthusiastic over their marriage as she was, although she had yet to end her relationship with the man she loved. Unlike this prince, her love with a very low born young man and she simply could not tell him it was over. He was well aware what this trip entailed, but being the optimist he'd refused to allow her to end things just yet._

_She thought he was being a touch foolish, but allowed him his fanciful dreams and hopes. If only she could feel that way, and if only she'd had the sense to end it before she'd left. At least Cyrus had broken things off with the young woman he was enamoured with, whilst she was going to just live in hope that when she didn't return after her marriage he would realize she was never going return to him._

"_Jasmyn? Why are you hiding out here?"_

_Princess Jasmyn jumped slightly when she heard the voice of her hand maiden, Saida, next to her. She turned and grinned at the woman who had accompanied her and her father from Agrabah to see to the wedding and chaperone her first meeting with Prince Cyrus. "I was just taking in the garden, that's all," she lied._

_Saida shook her head and laughed. "Your father would be unhappy to hear you were spying on your betrothed," she admonished._

_Jasmyn bowed her head, a little ashamed of what she'd just been doing. She knew better, but she couldn't help herself either. She'd been hearing about him since she was a child, how could she contain her curiosity to see what he looked like at the very least? She was eighteen to his twenty years, she couldn't help being a little shallow and worrying he would be ugly. For all she knew, he might be worried she was far from attractive as well._

"_At least he is very handsome, and appears to be quite noble. I know you have not let go of your secret suitor back home, your highness," Saida told her as they walked out of the garden and back towards her rooms._

_Jasmyn sighed, she'd been a bit of a coward in that respect. She knew she was not going home to Agrabah after her marriage which would happen in the next few months. If that did not give Aladdin the idea she was never coming home, she didn't know what would. Other than her telling him, of course, and she just could not bring herself break his heart._

_She'd known they were never meant to be married, it would only happen if he were a prince. She thought he was better than a prince, but her father would not see it that way._

_But at least Cyrus seemed to be a good man; she knew eventually she would learn to love him. Maybe not in the same way she loved Aladdin, but she knew she could grow fond of him in time._

_And obviously he was more noble than she, as he'd let go of the woman he seemed to be in love with. Jasmyn envied him that trait._

* * *

The opening of the door silenced Pari's tale long before it reached the sword play part, much to Millie's annoyance. Of all the times for her mother to finish up her errands and arrive early to pick her up, this was the worst time of them all.

Sarah walked over and took a sweeping glance of the party dress, nodding in approval. It lacked any detailing that she felt was unnecessary, even if Edwin had wanted his little girl to look like a princess for her party. Sarah didn't see the point to that; she could still look pretty without all the frivolous additions to the dress.

"Do I have to go now mum?" Millie whined as Pari helped her off the stool. The dress was finished, all that was left was to reinforce any alterations which could be done without her standing there, much to her displeasure. She wanted to hear more of the story.

Sarah looked at her oddly, normally her daughter didn't whine in such a way. "Of course we do, there is no point standing around here bothering these fine women in their work. We'll be back in a few days to pick up your dress, you can come along then for the few minutes that will take."

Millie was about ready to having a little tantrum, she wanted to hear more of the story, not go home to chase butterflies in the garden or whatever activity seemed to be appropriate for a little girl of her age. But she also knew throwing a fit wouldn't get her anywhere with her mother.

She bid Pari good bye and took her mother's hand, following her out of the shop. She was forming another idea in her head, a lovely little plot to get more of the story and get away with it right under her mother's nose.

All she had to do was convince her father to join in on it.

* * *

"Is this the first time you've done something without consulting Alice first?" Anastasia asked, smiling as Cyrus jumped slightly at the sound of her voice. For someone who always seemed very aware of his surroundings he could be far too easy to startle at times.

He looked over at Anastasia who was still turning his compass over in her slender hands, as if she thought she could figure out the riddle to why it no longer worked. He wished her luck, but fancied it was simply the fact his mother was no longer living, much to his sorrow. "I've never done anything without talking it over with her first and the same goes for her. There are small things we've done without the other's knowledge prior, but never anything like this."

Anastasia nodded, glancing back down at the compass. It did mirrored what she'd done to Will in a way, although she had her doubts he would ever forgive her for that transgression. If only he would hear her out, if she hadn't agreed to marry the king both of their heads would have been on the chopping block, as the man wasn't stupid. He knew who her partner in crime was.

She bit her bottom lip, her mind wandering from the compass to everything that had transpired in recent months. It struck her strange she'd been more than willing to possibly end Cyrus' life, all in the pursuit of changing the past to go back to a time when Will still had love for her shining in his eyes. She wasn't clear what fate awaited the genies required for the spell, but something told her if they didn't end up dead they'd long for the release that could only be found in death.

She snuck a glance over at Cyrus, who was standing near the door, fidgeting with the pendant Alice had returned to him. The soft glow of it seeped through his fingers from time to time; he was obviously lost in thought. It was strange, she'd been willing to sacrifice whatever sort of life he had for her own happiness, and yet he was the first one to speak up for her.

She wondered what sort of life he'd had, after being imprisoned in that bottle. For herself, as a queen, she'd been lonely. She had her husband, but he was further advanced in age than she therefore they had very little in common to talk about. He treated her well, and showered her with gifts and anything else her heart could desire, but it was not a happy life for her. The pretty gowns, sparkling jewels and wonderful balls could never make up for what she'd lost. She would have traded them all in for one fleeting moment of Will looking at her with nothing but devotion.

After the king had passed away her loneliness increased tenfold, and she'd learned quickly she had no friends. The Tweedles were more flatterers than they were friends, she was certain neither had a brain between them. A good chance they had at least half one, but not a complete brain that functioned. All the courtiers flattered her but she couldn't trust any of them, there was no one she could count as someone to confide in and call a friend.

She'd made the mistake once of confiding in one young woman close in age to herself, shortly after her husband's death, mentioning the man she had loved before her marriage. She had always thought of this person as a friend and confident, right until her words spread throughout the court. That was when she'd turned her emotions off and became the cold queen everyone knew her as. The young woman had been banned from court, under threat of death, and she never opened up to anyone again.

She had been alone in a crowd, locked away in her palace with pretty things but no one to love her or for her to love in return. In a way, she could start to understand why Cyrus had fought so hard to get back to Alice, why his faith that she'd come for him was so unfailing no matter how much she and Jafar had mocked him and terrorized him with the idea she'd never return for him. They'd shared a love so strong, nothing could severe it. How she longed to feel that again herself.

How many lifetimes had he spent alone in that bottle? How many years between masters had he been locked away in there, and when he was finally let out were they always good people? It struck her strange how she could feel a friendship starting to form based on their very different, yet similar, life experiences. They both were intimately acquainted with loneliness, and although Alice also understood that feeling Anastasia wasn't certain if the girl would ever be open to a friendship with her as well.

"What are you thinking about?" Cyrus finally ventured to ask, curious as to why Anastasia was looking so pensive. They'd all been through a lot in such a short time, and although Will and Alice were less than pleased to have the former Red Queen in their company he didn't feel the same way.

She had helped Jafar capture him, and had done so many unforgivable things but he knew she regretted a good many of them. He'd always been able to read people, even before becoming a genie. Afterwards though he'd learned quickly to know what sort of person had summoned him. Many were good people; they were either kind to him or indifferent, either way worked fine. He preferred when they were good and treated him almost as if he was human like them, but if they wanted to be indifferent that was agreeable to him as well. At least those masters weren't cruel; they just didn't care one way or the other for him. As long as he granted their wishes, that was all that mattered.

It was when he was summoned and he knew without a shadow of a doubt the person had a mean streak that he worried. Those masters spent most of the time yelling at him, belittling him and talking to him as if he was nothing. In a way he was nothing, and he knew that. Only once had he been unfortunate enough to be summoned by a master who actually turned physically violent towards him.

The man had been accustomed to keeping servants, and had seen Cyrus as even lower than that. When he'd told Alice he'd been a slave to man he wasn't lying, and it was that master that reinforced the thought in his mind. It had been degrading to go from a crown prince and heir to a kingdom to a slave endowed with magical abilities to serve others. If it hadn't been for one of the man's rather bold sons he likely would have incurred serious injury at some point, all for stating once again he couldn't kill anyone for the man through wishes. In all truth though, as the man had taken his anger out on him, he'd wondered why he needed it done through magic as he seemed more than capable of carrying the deed out on his own. He had longed to fight back, but in truth it wasn't his place. He was more than capable of defending himself but as a genie his sole purpose was to make sure his master was happy, and sadly it seemed violence made that particular master quite happy. Anytime he thought about that particular incident, he knew he didn't fight back because he had no reason to. Not until Alice, he may let her make the first move when it came to people attempting to steal him from her, but she gave him a reason and purpose after lifetimes of having nothing.

Thankfully the man had given his wishes to his son in a fit of anger, whilst his child had tended to any wounds Cyrus had suffered during the altercation. The son actually bore a strange resemblance to Faarih, which had only made Cyrus feel worse about the life he had agreed to. How he longed to be at the wrong end of one of his brother's pranks, anything would be preferable to all he was enduring.

He pushed the thoughts from his mind; that was the past. All those masters, the good and the bad, were long dead and his former life was forever lost to him. He was no longer a prince and he never would be one again. It was strange to think he could understand Anastasia, even though he'd been surrounded with family, he had been lonely. He was the crown prince, and there were so many duties that fell upon him that he could not ignore.

He had to be careful with whom he spoke to, and even more selective on whom he trusted with any and all confidences. Even his brothers were not to be trusted, as Faarih was one to proclaim any secret from the rooftops and Raheem had been envious of the fact he was the heir to the throne. Cyrus would have happily traded places with his brother, given the chance. He didn't want to rule the kingdom, but knew it was what he was born to do.

Even Nava, he had loved her dearly, but he couldn't trust her either. There had always been the fear when he broke off their relationship that she could become bitter, despite saying she understood, and spread around things he had said. He had been foolish one evening and confided in her his fears, and even his resentment, over being the crown prince. That had given him cause for concern, and after his imprisonment he always wondered if she'd shared any of what he'd told her.

It was only in Nadira he ever confided in, as he knew she would keep his secrets and would take them to the grave.

It was strange, both he and Anastasia had come from very different backgrounds: he had been born royal and she had married into her position, yet they did share an understanding of each other.

Anastasia walked over to him at his question, and dared to reach out and touch the pendant he still was fidgeting with. It was magical, she'd felt that when Jafar had handed it to her after he'd removed it from the sleeping genie. She'd always wondered about it, but knew she'd never get any answers. That was until now, of course. They both seemed to have come to an understanding and beginning of a friendship born of similar life experiences, surely she could ask him some questions now. "Why is this pendant so dear to you? I understand the compass, but what is it about this?"

He frowned, he really didn't want to answer but there was no harm in it, other than the memories. "It was given to me on my last mortal birthday, by my sister who passed away not long after the day. She had our brother, Raheem, seek out a sorcerer to enchant it. He'd had a flair for finding people he shouldn't, and he'd always been interested in magic, although our father felt it was unbecoming for someone of his station. She'd begged him to find a way to enchant it so it would glow when I found my true love, and not a one of us could say no to Nadira," he explained, noting by the look in Anastasia's eyes he'd just prompted even more questions with that.

"Why was magic so wrong for him to have an interest in? Surely your father could understand his desire to learn, instead of keeping him from such pursuits. I'm a queen and I can perform magic, and why was finding true love so important? Surely you would have had many young women after you when you were human," she observed, smiling slightly. She was attracted to Will, but would concede Cyrus was quite good looking as well, if she went for that look.

"Magic was for sorcerers, not royalty. Our father didn't want us partaking in anything that was out of the ordinary for royals, and Nadira worried about my impending marriage being one void of love, despite her young age. Not that I had a choice in the matter, it had been arranged when both I and the woman in question were just children," Cyrus told her.

Anastasia's expression became pensive as she mulled over his words. She'd thought he'd been born in a higher class by the way he acted, even when he'd been Jafar's prisoner she'd wondered. Now she had it confirmed he'd been a prince, but with the mention of an arranged marriage her mind began to whirl. That was normal with royalty, not always in the Enchanted Forest, but she knew it happened in other kingdoms, or at least it did in a time long passed. Her eyes suddenly went wide as she looked up at him, noticing how he smiled shyly and looked away.

"You had an arranged marriage? Cyrus, you were heir to the throne of the kingdom you came from, weren't you?" she gasped, grabbing his hands to hold them in her in shock.

He simply nodded; there were no more words to be said. He knew she would have figured it out eventually, she'd recognize some of his mannerisms as being that of royalty. He may have spent countless lifetimes a genie but it would take a lot longer than that to break him of habits that had been ingrained in him since he could speak.

She looked at him imploringly, her eyes begging him to tell her more. This was more than she'd ever expected when she'd first heard of him. She had always assumed genies just were, but when she'd realized this one had once been human she had been interested in what he was before he'd been put in that bottle. If only he would trust her enough to tell her, she knew he owed her nothing, but she could hope he might give her something.

"If I tell you any of my history, you must promise not to tell Alice. I will stop talking when her and the Knave return, and shall not continue the tale until we are alone again," he told her, his voice taking a serious but wistful tone.

She nodded in agreement. "Why don't you want anyone else to know?" she inquired, leading him over towards somewhere to sit as she was certain this would be a long tale.

Cyrus sighed as he sank down on to the end of the bed, running a hand through his hair. "I've gone from a crown prince to a magical slave; the look of pity in her eyes might be more than I can bear. I will tell her one day, but I wish to choose when that shall be and not be forced into it. I know she loves me, but this is not something I'm willing to share just yet," he explained.

"I understand, and I promise I will not tell her," Anastasia swore, waiting for him to begin his tale and hoping Alice and Will would not return too soon. She understood why he had no desire for Alice to know his history, although she felt it would be better if he told her. Secrets and deception did nothing for a relationship, but you couldn't force someone to talk, or listen. She knew at some point she would have to tell Will what had transpired in the palace when they'd gone to steal the crown jewels, but she was not prepared to tell him just yet. Not until she was certain he was even slightly open to hearing her side.

They needed to leave Wonderland, but she did long to learn just a little about Cyrus. He was her only friend, and he seemed to have figured out so much about her without her disclosing one bit of information. All she wanted was to know something about his past, even if it wouldn't be much.

"I only have one other request in return," he said, looking at her imploringly.

She nodded her agreement, he was about to tell her something he'd not spoken of to anyone else, the least she could promise was to do something for him in return. "What is it?"

His gaze went towards his compass, which she was holding again in one hand. His nervous habit seemed to be playing with the pendant around his neck and she'd acquired one for turning his compass over in her hands. "I want to know what exactly you fancy you'll do to make that compass work again."

She smiled brightly, that was a simple enough request that she would not deny. "Of course, it is the least I can do."

* * *

Millie bounced a bit when she walked into her favourite tearoom in London. It was the place she frequented with her father during the week to have a break from Sarah, as she could be suffocating to them both. They loved the woman in their own ways respectively, but like all things you love every so often you need a respite from them. Or at least that was how they felt towards Sarah, it didn't apply to everyone they loved.

Edwin had finally realized, much too late, that he loved Alice, and wished to have her at his side until he drew his last breath but despaired that would ever happen. She shouldn't have used that wish, he would have rather died for all the heartache he had caused her, and he worried what that meant for her and the genie she loved. If that was her second wish, he could only hope she wasn't forced into the third. He hadn't been worth wasting a wish on.

Although if he had a wish right about then, he might yield to temptation to use it remember the name of the genie. Of all the strange things that had happened in Wonderland, every word of it he swore was a dream to appease Sarah, he could not remember the name of the man his daughter loved. He'd always heard the old adage 'be careful what you wish for' and could only assume wishes always came with a cost, and the name of the genie seemed to be a small cost.

He scanned the room, looking for the person they were meeting. Millie had convinced him they had to have their daily tea with Pari, the woman who worked at the dress shop Sarah frequented. At first he'd been reluctant to go along with this crazy notion, but he also longed to hear more of this story and from the source as sometimes Millie got ahead of herself and had to back track the tale to clear things up. At times, it could get a bit confusing, but he'd managed to piece the story together thus far.

A woman caught his eye, and he could only assume it was Pari by her exotic beauty. The woman glanced to them and smiled, signifying to him she was who they'd come to meet. Millie grabbed his hand and led him over to the table in the corner of the room, a place they could have tea and talk without being seen by anyone Sarah may know that could be passing by.

"Good afternoon, I'm Edwin Chattoway and I believe you know my daughter Millie," he said, extending a hand in greeting as the woman they'd come to meet stood.

Pari smiled brightly and grasped his hand to shake it. She introduced herself as well, almost forgetting the last name she had adopted in this realm as she'd not had one in her own. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Chattoway, I'm Pari James," she said, still finding the last name odd on her tongue when she said it.

Edwin smiled and insisted on being called simply Edwin, pulling out her chair for her as she sat again. Once they were settled and had ordered their tea Millie jumped in asking for more of the story.

Pari laughed, noting the excited look in Edwin's eyes as well. She was glad to be able to tell the story of her children, even if it did pain her to remember. It had been such a long time ago, so many lifetimes had passed, yet the ache lived on for her.

If only she could find the one who was lost to her, maybe then she could start to feel as though she was alive again instead of just existing.

* * *

_Faarih grinned as the last of his opponents conceded to defeat by the sword of the youngest prince. He was assured he'd impressed Shirina more than enough, there was no chance she could doubt his skill with a sword after this display and she'd be more than happy to accompany him to the evening's festivities._

_He sheathed his sword, grinning wide at his victory. Just as he was about to walk away from the people who had assembled to watch his display of sword play he noted Nadira running forward, Cyrus a few steps behind her._

"_You haven't had anyone really challenge you, brother. Why not someone your equal in both status and skill?" she inquired, grinning as the people assembled instantly began to look intrigued by this challenge._

_Faarih shot Nadira and annoyed glare; he didn't want to fight Cyrus. Not simply because he was worried his brother would show him up, as he was fairly convinced his older brother did not fret over learning about sword play, but he was worried he might accidently injure his brother on his birthday and end up on the wrong end of their father's ire._

_But with Shirina watching he could not resist the desire to unarm his oldest brother, and the crown prince on his birthday no less. The temptation was too great, and he could not yield to it. He knew he should, but he'd never been one to listen to his own common sense._

"_Then draw your sword, Cyrus, and we'll see who is the more skilled of us both. Although I warn you, I fear you will find yourself admitting defeat to one younger than you," he challenged, a wide grin enveloping his face as Cyrus stepped forward and drew his own sword._

_Nadira watched with glee, she loved observing her brothers practice their sword play. Sadly, as a girl, she was not allowed to train with them, her father had relented and allowed her to learn how to use a sword but she was not permitted to practice with the men. It was fortunate her mother knew how to use a sword, or she'd spend her time swatting hers' at a tree for practice._

_Pari came and sat beside her daughter, stealing a sideways glance at the girl her youngest son was trying to win over. The girl did seem impressed with Faarih, and appeared slightly surprised he'd taken on his older brother. Her eyes seemed to widen even more as the sword fight went on, but Pari soon realized it wasn't just out of disbelief at what she was seeing, but worry as well._

_She turned to see the fight had become far more serious than it was meant to be. This was solely meant to put Faarih in his place, to teach him that every time he played a trick on his siblings that landed them in trouble, they would get him back in some shape or form. This may have started out with that intention, but it was more than obvious to Pari something in Cyrus had snapped and he was taking his frustrations out in this sword fight, and if he wasn't careful he would find himself in even more trouble than he was already in._

_Faarih jumped out of the way just in the nick of time, wondering what he could do or say to defuse his brother. Despite the way he acted, he had noticed over the past few weeks Cyrus was stressed, mind that didn't stop him from playing that trick that got his brother in hot water with their father. In retrospect, he likely should have held off on that until after the birthday had passed._

_Unlike Raheem, he did not harbour any feeling of envy towards Cyrus. He was glad he was not the crown prince, as he had no desire to have all those responsibilities on his shoulders. He had his own duties to see to, but nothing to the extent of the oldest of them all. It always baffled him why Raheem was so jealous of him, he'd noticed as they had grown older they'd begun to see less and less of Cyrus and when they did finally spend time with him he wasn't always the best company._

"_Cyrus!" he shouted, darting out of the way again. Sadly, this time he wasn't fast enough and he yelped when he felt the blade slice into his upper arm._

_The sound of his cry brought Cyrus out of his thoughts, and he instantly regretted what he'd done. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he'd been in a daze, he hadn't even noticed he was acting as if he was training with one of the men his father had him work with on a daily basis. He knew better, this was his youngest brother, someone who was not as skilled as he with a sword, despite his boastful nature. Faarih wouldn't be able to block and parry the same as his own instructors, he was actually thankful he hadn't thought to bring a second sword with him. In his distracted state he could have caused serious injury, or even killed his little brother._

_He watched the deep crimson blood slowly spill out of the shallow flesh wound he'd inflicted on his brother, staining the white of his shirt red, eyes wide and disbelieving. He'd never inflicted an injury on any of his siblings before, not intentionally. Of course there had been scrapes when they were young boys, but nothing to this level._

_He dropped his sword, unsure what to do. Their mother had rushed forward, as well as a few of the servants that had been standing around. The one thing Cyrus knew for certain was he was in a lot of trouble for this. He wasn't to allow his emotions to cloud his judgements, he was to stay cool and level headed with all he did and every thought._

_Everything around him was a complete mess. Faarih was looking at him with shock in his eyes, the courtiers gathered around were whispering and he could pretty well guess what was being said. There had always been question if he would be able to take the responsibility of the throne when the time came, he wasn't the cool and collected one like Raheem, and he did have a habit of letting his emotions rule at times. Even their father had despaired at how he failed to think at times, making a decision based on emotions rather than cold logic._

_Before he could even think to leave he felt someone grab him by his upper arm, and he looked over to find himself looking into the fiery eyes of his father. Cyrus didn't resist when he was dragged into the palace, he knew he was about to get the lecture of his life, and one he likely wouldn't soon forget._

_A small part of him wished this transgression would be enough to somehow lose the title of crown prince, let it go to Raheem, he didn't care what sort of shame would be his to live with. He simply wanted out of this life and out of this arranged marriage. Why couldn't his father understand?_

* * *

_Nadira was cautious walking into the gardens as the sun was setting. The festivities had started hours earlier, but she'd seen Cyrus manage to slip away after being introduced to his betrothed wife. The crown prince was not having a good day, to say the very least. After his last talk with their father it was more than obvious Cyrus was in the worst mood anyone had ever seen him in. He hardly spoke, and if he did he kept it short and his voice was laced with anger. Even his smile was forced, and that saddened her as he had the loveliest smile, so far as she was concerned._

_He had pulled it together when introduced to the princess from Agrabah, and even Nadira had to admit that Jasmyn was very pretty, and they made a beautiful couple, but it was obvious her heart was not in the marriage either. It actually made Nadira sad that these sorts of things happened, all in an effort to forge an alliance with another kingdom._

_She wished life could be like in that book from the Enchanted Forest, where they all could marry for love. Raheem and Faarih would have a little leeway when it came to marriage, but she knew, despite her young age, they'd still have to pick someone noble. Like Cyrus, she was fairly certain whom she would marry would be chosen for her, although that was years away._

_As she turned a corner she found Cyrus standing by himself, looking towards the ground with a blank expression on his face. She wanted to sneak up on him, but the cough that had begun to plague her as the day progressed decided to ruin her fun._

_Cyrus glanced up, surprised to find Nadira standing a few feet away from him. As far as he knew, she was to have retired to her rooms by this point as she was still considered too young to stay up throughout the entire night no matter what they were holding a celebration for. He walked over to her, asking why she was still awake when it was obvious she was feeling unwell._

_She removed her hand from over her mouth, and with her other produced a small box. "I wanted to give you my birthday gift for you," she informed him, smiling._

_Cyrus laughed, a real smile gracing his face, as he took the box from her. "You should be in bed, it sounds to me as though you are coming down with some illness," he said._

_Nadira shrugged, bouncing slightly as he took the pendant out of the box, looking it over appreciatively. She knew he'd received many extravagant gifts that night, from their parents and other nobles, as well as the sultan from Agrabah, but she hoped this small trinket would be enough. She knew Cyrus was not impressed by huge overtures, unlike Raheem, but she was worried the pendant would be something he shrugged off._

_Raheem had told her it was a silly gift, even as he promised to find someone to enchant it for her. "I hope you like it, the pendant is enchanted. When you find your true love it will glow," she explained, her sparkling brown eyes looking at him hopefully. She wanted him to say if he liked it or not before she was found out of her rooms._

_He reached out and pulled her into a hug, thanking her for the gift. "It is lovely, but why did you have it enchanted? We both know this marriage with Jasmyn is going to happen, no matter how much I argue with father."_

_Nadira giggled a bit, he really did need to stop antagonizing their father over every little thing. It would be simpler to just nod and agree with him, he was set in the traditions and ways he had grown up with, she knew once Cyrus took the throne he could very well start to change things, other than his arranged marriage but he could ensure no other heir would be subjected to one._

"_Maybe one day it will glow when you are near Jasmyn, she could be your true love," she said, just as another cough tore through her slight frame._

_Cyrus pulled out of the hug, and placed his hands on her shoulders whilst looking her over. Earlier that day she'd felt warm to him, and even now she seemed to have gone up slightly in temperature. The cough had started a few days prior, and despite her insistence it was getting better he was certain it sounded worse._

_Instead of chastising her for being out in the cool night air with that cough, he smiled warmly at her and suggested he escort her back to her rooms. She gladly agreed to his suggestion, and took his hand in hers, looking happily on as he put the pendant around his neck. "I hope it does glow one day, I bet it will look pretty," she said, coughing slightly._

_He grinned, trying to keep the sadness and worry out of his face. "I hope it does as well."_

AN:

I really hope this chapter was alright...it has been driving me insane for a few days as it is so long (23 pages in Word...granted I have the text at 14 point due to vision problems, so if there are punctuation marks missing that is why). Either way, I hope it was enjoyable and that I caught all the spelling/grimmer mistakes!

And yes, I had to go there in Cyrus' back story. I hadn't actually intended to weave _Aladdin_ in there, I was just going to loosely work with _The Three Princes_ (and I mean loosely...the version I read was very violent), but you know how it goes, characters just do what they want.

See you in two weeks. :)


	4. Thoughts & Fears on the Past & Future

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Pari sighed sadly as she waited at what had become their usual table in the tea room. It almost seemed sad to her that both Millie and Edwin felt they had to hide from Sarah; all in order to hear what they thought were fanciful tales of whimsy and wonder.

If only they knew the truth, she wanted to tell them at times that the story she was relating to them was something that had happened, and not some made up story. In her travels she had heard other tales similar to the one she was currently telling, but the situation and setting was always different, the names were changed or omitted completely, yet in a way it made her somewhat pleased to know the story of her sons at the very least lived on, and that of the princess her oldest was to marry.

She'd spent days now telling them about the wedding preparations, but today's story would not be the joyous one they were expecting. Millie, being quite the optimist, was expecting Cyrus and Jasmine to fall in love suddenly. She was convinced his pendant from Nadira would begin to glow. Edwin, on the other hand, seemed to be having a time wrapping his mind around the concept of forcing children to marry. She almost commented on how his wife pretty much forced his oldest daughter to leave for an asylum but managed to hold her tongue.

It was a different time, and even a different realm. It was strange when she thought about how time passed in each realm. A week in this one could be a month elsewhere, or maybe only hours. Once more it had her wondering where Cyrus was, who had him and if they treating him well.

It was that desperation to know those answers which had brought her to the one man known in her realm that could help her. There were others who may have been able to help, even in her own land, but somehow she knew this man was the one who would aide her without too many questions. He would most likely want something in return, as no favours from him came without a price, but she would gave willingly paid it to stay alive and hopefully find her son once more.

* * *

"_Well, aren't we far from home, your highness," a highly amused voice commented as the door to the large house opened before she had a chance to raise her hand to knock._

_Pari was slightly shocked, she had no idea how this man, if he was still considered one, knew she was coming. She'd heard legends about him but in her part of the world there was so little known of him, and even then you had to find the right person to speak with. The only thing she knew was he possessed great power and everything with him came at a price. The price meant little to her, so long as she would see her son again._

_The man laughed, and waved her in. "I take it my name proceeds my reputation in your part of the world, as I can tell you're not from the Enchanted Forest, dearie."_

"_I would say that is fairly obvious, __Rumplestiltskin," she answered as she walked in, taking in the sights around her. Everything made it more than obvious she was no longer in her homeland._

_Rumplestiltskin tapped his fingers on a nearby table, obviously waiting for something. It took her a few moments to realize what it was, as she was accustom to people knowing her name regardless of where she went. "My name is Pari, wife of..." she began to say when he waved a hand to silence her._

"_I know that already," he interrupted. He then proceeded to tell her all about her family, how he knew the name of her husband who happened to be the Shah of her kingdom. They had been blessed with four children: three sons and a daughter, and that her daughter had passed away not long ago. He then began to describe another recent event, but it was there he made a mistake: Cyrus was not dead, as the man had stated._

_Pari smirked, so he could see all as the stories said. He obviously was very satisfied with everything he'd relayed to her, but sadly he had one small fact wrong. "Well, I guess there is little else for me to tell you," she said, as he began walking to the large staircase slowly, making it obvious he wanted her to follow him. "But you're wrong on one thing."_

_That stopped him dead in his tracks. "I'm never wrong," he snapped as he turned to look at her._

"_Well then, let this be known as the first time. Cyrus is not dead, his mortal life is ended but he is not dead. He was turned into a genie," she told him._

"_Come again?" Rumpel blurted out. That was different, he'd never heard of people being turned into genies. He didn't even know there was a spell for that, if he had been aware of that fact there were a few people he'd love to stuff in a bottle for all time. And then bury said bottle about ten feet below a rock for good measure._

"_I think you heard me," she answered. The few people she'd spoken with in this land whist searching for the Dark One made it clear he was not one to be messed with, but she was still a royal and wasn't going to explain herself twice. She knew he'd heard exactly what she'd said._

_Rumpel sneered slightly, why did royalty have to be such a bother? But he did actually like her; she wasn't going to take anything from those who got in the way of what she wanted and that was something he respected. He could sense a sadness in her, he'd felt it the moment she'd started towards his sprawling home, but hadn't been able to pinpoint it. This wasn't the sadness that accompanied the death of a child, this was different. Now he understood it, and the shred of humanity he still had in his dark heart wanted to help her._

_His son was lost to him, he understood her pain. The difference was he had no idea where his was, or what trials he was facing. Was Bae safe? Had he found someone to care for him in the way he felt his own father did not? He could at least live with the denial and comfort that Bae had happened upon a family that welcomed him with open arms whilst he worked on a spell that would take him to that land without magic._

_Pari on the other hand may not know where her son is, but she knew what life he was facing. A life of servitude would be a hard adjustment for someone accustom to being served upon. Oddly, he could tell she wasn't trying to save him, she wanted to live long enough to find him again. But he knew, he could see that one day she would find him, and she was the one who would free him._

"_You know what? I like you, so this I'll do free of charge. You want to live to find your son again, to be there for him when he is free of his prison and I can teach you the magic you need for that," he told her, smiling._

_Pari looked at him skeptically, nothing with Rumplestiltskin came free. "I find this hard to believe, everyone in this land swears you do nothing without a price," she said, her voice betraying her distrust at his words._

_He laughed. "Ah, see, you can't believe all these tales from the farmers with pitch forks out there. For them, there is a price. They annoy me, but you dearie, I like you. I understand what you long for, and so I'll give you all the knowledge and everything you'll need to be there for Cyrus when he needs you, and he will."_

_With that said he started up the stairs at a quick pace, which Pari had to run to catch up with him. He certainly was an infuriating man, but she'd do almost anything to see her oldest child again. She regretted leaving her other sons, it had been a hard decision to make but she had to do this. "How do you know any of this? You could be giving me false hope."_

_At the top of the stairs he turned and instead of that strange, mocking smile, a serious look came over his face. "Evidently you are unaware I can see the future dearie. Only bits and pieces, they're hard to put together and impossible to interpret for the most part. But I have seen you with your son, and in that moment the golden shackles upon his wrists loosen and fall away, accompanied with a strange cracking sound. You will be the one to free him, I do not know when and I do not know how, but it is you."_

_Pari was about to say something, when a giggle escaped his lips and he spun on his heels to continue walking to the room he kept many of the spell books in. "Now then dearie, let's have some fun!"_

* * *

The memory of his words, that she would be the one to free her son of a life of servitude that was enough to keep her going. There were days she grew weary of living, she'd been alive for so long but she knew there was a reason for her to keep going. If she gave up on life she would be giving up on Cyrus.

Without her he would remain a genie for eternity. She had no idea why, as Rumplestiltskin had never elaborated but he had insisted many times that she was the only one who would free him, and he was adamant there was no one else who could.

She took another sip of her tea and waited for her audience to arrive, thinking over the man's words again. He seemed to talk in riddles at times, but she trusted he knew what he was talking about.

He was the one who could see into the future after all.

* * *

Will was annoyed; they'd walked all that way to find the White Rabbit was not in. They had to get out of Wonderland and the sooner the better. How many relatives did these rabbits have anyway, and why would he be out visiting them at night? Obviously the rabbit wasn't against seeing if anyone wanted to turn him into a late night snack, since traveling at night wasn't always the best of plans.

The irony of that thought hit him as he saw the large rock they were heading towards come into view. He didn't worry too much about traveling with Alice at night; she could hold her own and that sword of her's would definitely put anyone in their place who thought they wanted to mess with her. She was a woman on a mission, and he pitied anyone who thought they could best her.

"You say I think too loud," Alice quipped, looking over her shoulder to see if Will was still behind her. If she had to guess, she would say it was closing in on midnight and she was beyond happy they were a few minutes from home. All she wanted to do was sleep, once they figured out how exactly they'd arrange where everyone was going to sleep. She rather hoped Anastasia could use some magic to create a few more beds, or something for sleeping.

"I just can't believe that bloody rabbit wasn't home is all," Will muttered, kicking a rock out of his way.

Alice shook her head. "Well, he does have a life outside of digging holes to send people all over. Mrs. Rabbit promised he'd come by dinner time tomorrow, and no later. We've nothing to worry about; soon we'll be safely away from here."

"If you insist. I'd feel better if we were getting out of this bloody realm tonight, always feels like something is going to go wrong here no matter how well you plan ahead for anything," he said just as Alice vanished. He stopped and shook his head for a second. "I'm never going to get used to that."

Cyrus did just as he said he would, stopped talking the second he heard Alice and Will approaching. He'd told Anastasia his entire story, for the most part. He'd left out a few things that were of no importance and of course there was no point talking about the many people he'd belonged to over the many lifetimes since he'd become a genie, but now she knew a good deal about him.

He did hope she'd still explain her theory on his compass, whether Alice and Will were there or not. It made no difference to him who heard about that, there was no way to discern anything of his past from that item.

Anastasia smiled when she saw Alice, and it brightened slightly when Will entered a second or two later. She knew he still held no love for her, and he may never be able to forgive her for everything she'd done, but it didn't mean her heart didn't gladden to see him. She was slowly beginning to realize everything she'd done was wrong, and in the end she would have been hurting everyone. Herself included, as there really was no way to go back and relive the past without risking the chance of making the same mistakes.

"The rabbit will be here at some point tomorrow, so we just have to stay inside and wait," Alice explained as she sat down on the bed beside Cyrus, wrapping an arm around him and resting her head on his shoulder. "Which, in retrospect, is a good thing as we have to decide where we're going."

A smile graced Cyrus' face; evidently Alice had forgiven him for what he'd done. He could still sense her anger, but it was not quite as strong as before. He could feel her worry that the rabbit may not arrive soon enough to escape before Jafar arrived to reclaim what he thought was his. It was a terrifying thought, but there was no point in worrying about what could be until it came to pass.

"I guess that gives us enough time to figure out where we all need to go, and who gets first dibs on where the rabbit digs his hole to," Will stated, sitting once more on the floor. He would have preferred to sit on the bed, it would be far more comfortable, but he still refused to be too near Anastasia.

Cyrus may have forgiven her, and even Alice seemed to have given the woman the benefit of the doubt, but there was no chance he was following suit. He knew her, and he was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. He wasn't looking forward to telling Alice 'I told you so' when the former Red Queen turned on them, handing Cyrus and his bottle back over to Jafar, but he knew it was coming.

"I think we can all settle on somewhere safe together," Alice said, smiling brightly. It was getting late and although she'd much prefer to go to sleep it likely would be wise to give some discussion on where they would go.

Anastasia was about to speak when Will cut in. "Oh no, I'll go anywhere you want Alice, along with your genie, but I'm not realm skipping with her. I'd rather take my chances with Jafar."

"I think you are highly overestimating your pain tolerance," Cyrus muttered, wondering why anyone would rather risk being captured by the sorcerer than travel with the former Red Queen. When it came to the lesser of the two evils, she most certainly won out. He knew Will still didn't trust her, but he would hope the man could set that aside for a few moments until they were all safe.

Will shrugged. "You're still alive, now aren't you?"

"Because he needed me. Just because he kept me alive does not mean I was comfortable," he explained, a pensive expression washing over his face.

Anastasia winced; she knew exactly what he meant. When Jafar had tasked her with capturing the genie needed she'd inquired how exactly he was planning on keeping him contained without his bottle. It wasn't often you'd hear of a genie roaming around freely, at least to her knowledge. He had only told her that silver would keep him contained after she'd badgered him for a few days.

She'd found that odd, but said nothing more. She came from the Enchanted Forest and genies were not something she'd heard of there, this was more Jafar's domain so if he said that was how to keep him contained, she'd believe his words.

It still struck her as very strange, until the day she'd realized why he couldn't get past the silver. For all the sorcerer's intelligence, she did marvel that the floor of the cage wasn't silver as well, and when she'd discovered Cyrus had escaped she actually wasn't overly surprised. She had noticed a bit of spirit in his dark eyes at times, and she fancied he'd give it his best to get away, once he began to feel desperate enough.

Alice jumped in before anyone else could speak. "Why don't we sleep on this? It is getting late, and I think we all need a clear head before we decide on anything. The rabbit likely won't show up until sometime in the afternoon, he is always late remember," she suggested, causing both Will and Anastasia to chuckle a bit at the last part.

If there was one thing they could count on, the White Rabbit would be late no matter his intentions of being on time.

* * *

"_Are you here to make me feel guilty for what I did to Faarih a few days ago?" Cyrus inquired as Raheem walked into his room._

_Cyrus was getting tired of everyone. He knew if anyone was speaking to him it was either about his impending marriage, or about his little accident with Faarih. The way everyone spoke they made it sound as if he'd nearly run his younger brother through with his sword, it was a flesh wound and nothing more. He was glad he'd not gotten to the point of drawing his second sword he always had on him, as he knew in his distracted state he could have caused serious injury to his brother._

_Raheem shook his head, he wasn't here over that. He knew Cyrus was still getting lectures from their father due to that little transgression and his ability to rule was in question yet again. "Maybe in part, but have you not considered it is time for you to lay to rest your resentment over your station in life and move forward?"_

_Cyrus put down the book he'd been reading, and looked at his brother oddly. That was one of the strangest statements he'd heard from Raheem. "Excuse me?"_

_Raheem walked over to where his brother was sitting, and perched himself in a chair across from him. He glanced around the room, feeling a slight pang of jealousy wash over him. They all were, as the servant children would say, spoiled due to their position, but for some reason Cyrus' room was always a touch nicer than either his or Faarih. Of course his recent birthday didn't help; he'd been given many extravagant gifts from other nobles as well as the sultan of the princess he was to marry._

_And as always, the gifts meant very little to Cyrus. He thanked everyone dutifully, as he should, but it was more than obvious the book of stories from Princess Jasmine and the pendant from Nadira were his favourite gifts. Cyrus had always had a fondness for tales from other lands and he adored Nadira so anything from their sister he would value. The rest of the gifts just seemed to be of little use to him, and it always bothered Raheem a little that Cyrus didn't seem to care that he was the one who would one day hold so much power, and he had no desire for it._

"_Everyone is whispering about you," he stated, to which Cyrus laughed._

"_They've been whispering about me for years brother, this is not news. I am well aware the court feels I would be a poor ruler as I have no desire to follow in our father's footsteps with his style of ruling the kingdom, as well as all the traditions and notions that come with the position," he stated, wondering where Raheem was going with all this. This was not something unknown to him, so it made little sense his brother had made a point of coming to inform him there were whispers around the court._

_Raheem bit back a growl of annoyance. "No Cyrus, you need to stop letting your emotions rule you. You are the crown prince, and you shall be the Shah one day. It is your lot to have your wife chosen for you, and if you do not find love with her you are more than capable to find it with another so long as Jasmine produces an heir."_

_The amusement faded from Cyrus' face at those words. He was tired of hearing all this, and it aggravated him his brother was carrying on over it as well. Their father had brought it up earlier in the day, and Cyrus had simply nodded just to end the conversation. Every so often he realized he had to just agree with their father and let things go. If he'd stated that was one tradition that would die with him, he likely would have received yet another lecture, and Cyrus was convinced he'd had enough of those to last him for a year or more._

"_As you seem so fond of that tradition, keep it for yourself Raheem. It is one that shall die with our father, so far as I am concerned," he snapped, anger flashing in his eyes. Why everyone had to question how he would rule and live his personal life was beyond him, their father was in good health and so far as he knew, no one was plotting his demise. He was in no hurry to rule the kingdom, and if he could find a way to grant his father eternal life he would gladly do so just to avoid it. Not to mention some of the more personal practices of a Shah, those were getting on his last nerve. If he wanted to forego them, that was his choice._

"_That King should never have brought us that book. You and Nadira both have been poisoned by foolish notions, why do you rebel against everything that every ruler before you has done?" Raheem demanded, glancing at the book his brother had been reading. It was stories from Agrabah, and he hoped they weren't as foolish as the tales from that far off Enchanted Forest._

"_Would you care to know what is wrong with you, Raheem?" Cyrus demanded in a voice tinted with anger, not waiting for an answer. "You see everyone as below you. Despite our father and mother teaching us that everyone deserves respect, you see the servants as you would dirt. And at times you treat them as such, do not argue with me either. I have seen you mocking them when you assume no one is looking. Even the other nobles, as they are not royal born you feel they are not worth your time unless they are giving you accolades for something you've done. Ruling would serve you ill, as you have no idea how."_

_Raheem took a few moments to gather his thoughts at that statement. Why shouldn't he see the servants, and even the nobles born below him, as less than important? What was important was his family as they were the ones with all the power in the kingdom. The only people who were of the same status as himself were the royals who would come and visit from other kingdoms, he was always good and kind to them._

"_And what are you going to do? Bow to everyone? You seem to believe every silly notion put in your head from rulers that visit from other kingdoms whose traditions are different than our's. What difference does it make to you that a king from a far off country balked at the concept of mistresses when our father was married? Our mother takes it in stride," Raheem argued._

_Cyrus stood and walked away from his brother at that, to avoid lashing out at him with a slap or worse. "You view women as below you as well, do you?"_

"_What is with these questions? Of course, they are to produce heirs, and for our pleasure," Raheem insisted, feeling frustrated with the way Cyrus was acting. He was actually starting to wonder if that time he'd pitched his oldest brother down a flight of stairs hadn't addled his brain._

"_And that is your folly, you believe everyone, no matter their gender or station in life, below you. They are servants and slaves to your whims and desires, and that is not how it works," Cyrus explained, leaning back against a nearby wall and closing his eyes. He was really getting tired of everyone telling him how he should act, he knew how he would rule when his time came and so far as he was concerned it was time for a change._

_The way he perceived it, most of the concern went to the nobles and what they wanted, very little of his father's time went to the commoners. On holidays and celebrations there was always something for the people who lived within the lower echelons of society, but Cyrus felt more could be done. He knew he wouldn't be able to change their lives drastically, but he would try to help if he could._

_Raheem stood and walked over to him, his every movement slightly jerky with his built up anger at what he perceived as an insult. "Oh, and you believe it is the other way around? We who were born to want for nothing are servants to those who want for everything?"_

_Cyrus opened his eyes and smiled sadly, Raheem was still in the brash part of adolescence and had a lot of growing up to do yet. He wondered at times what it would take to make him understand, but at least there was no fear of him becoming Shah one day. So long as he and Jasmine had a son, the burden would never fall to him. "We serve the people, we are here to listen to their needs and worries and try to find a solution. We cannot cure all their pains and worries, but we must try. Our servants are here to wait upon us, but in turn we should give them a good life as well, and the other nobles we should treat with respect. Despite what you believe, we are here to serve the people."_

"_Where did you get these foolish notions? They certainly did not come from our father, nor any of the books he set out for you to read or of the lessons we were taught growing up. You speak foolishly," Raheem snapped._

_Cyrus moved away from his brother and headed out of the room. "This conversation is ended, and I wish for you not to bring it up again with me. If you must, then complain to our father. He'd be more than happy to give me yet another lecture, I fear he has a weekly quota and I would hate to deny him the pleasure of meeting it."_

_And with that said, Raheem found himself standing alone in his brother's room with nothing but his aggravation to keep him company._

* * *

"This Cyrus did have strange ideals for a royal," Edwin commented as he poured himself another cup of tea.

Pari grinned. "He did, but he had excellent ideas. He had read many books, and spoken with royals from visiting kingdoms whenever there were any around. He wasn't the only one who wanted to change the way things worked, his youngest brother was actually of the same mind as well, but did not voice his opinions so frequently. Raheem was a quiet, studious boy who was very set on traditions. He was always a bit envious that Cyrus would become Shah one day instead of him, and he was determined at times to show his older brother the error of his ways. Which wasn't always wise, as Cyrus did have a bit of a temper that he had a hard time keeping in check when provoked. He did tend to act first and think later at times."

Edwin chuckled slightly at the way Pari spoke of the two princes. "The way you talk about them, you make them seem as if they were real people that you knew."

Millie's eyes went wide at that comment, and she looked at Pari with a hopeful expression. She didn't speak, as she had a mouthful of some sort of cake. It was a treat Sarah was loathed to let her have, but as they'd started meeting for tea every day Millie was pleased to discover she could have a little piece of some sweet or other with her tea, a fact she delighted in greatly.

"The story is one I spent a long time with, so at times it feels as if I knew these princes quite intimately," she explained, trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. Talking about her children as if they were nothing but characters in an old story was hard, it did give her some joy to finally tell their story but at the same time she wanted to say they were real people. At one time, they had lived and one still did.

But she knew saying that would likely get her sent off to the asylum as well, and she'd rather avoid that. Maybe one day she'd be able to tell someone the story was true, but she knew that wouldn't happen until she found Cyrus again, and she had no idea when that day would come.

With a smile she asked if they thought there was time for a little more of the story, to which Millie eagerly bobbed her head up and down, whilst Edwin laughingly agreed. There was always time for more stories.

* * *

Will tossed and turned, it was hard to sleep on the floor. It was wonderful he had some pillows and the likes, but it wasn't close to what he'd label comfortable. He'd found that impossible to get used to in that bottle as well, how Cyrus could have spent any length of time in there was beyond him. He'd heard a body could get used to anything, even hanging, but a proper bed was a necessity in life.

He sat up and looked around the room. Cyrus was a few feet away from him, somehow asleep with only some pillows between him and the ground. Both Anastasia and Alice were soundly sleeping on the bed. He thought there was room for one more on there, but they'd both refused to share, and Cyrus had said it was improper for him to be sleeping in the same bed as two young women, to which Will had almost mentioned Anastasia had no issues with that back in the Enchanted Forest. And of course he wondered how Alice and Cyrus' sleeping arrangements had worked for all those years, but something told him it didn't quite run along the lines of him and Anastasia in a time passed.

But then he could see that Alice and Cyrus had a type of love that was different than the one he'd once shared with the former Red Queen. He'd seen love in its many forms over his life thus far. Theirs' was deep and unconditional, it didn't require the physical or any proof. He could recognize that as he'd seen the looks Alice and her genie shared as the same as a couple back in Storybrooke, before he'd been drug on an adventure he didn't want to be part of.

He could remember how his mother always talked about love, despite the fact her husband had left her with a child barely out of his toddler years. He admired her for that alone, most would turn bitter if they'd been abandoned but she had an unfailing belief in that particular emotion.

Although as he grew older he began to also see it as her downfall, when his father did return she refused to see what was wrong with the relationship. The man treated her horribly, every word out of his mouth was an insult and yet she refused to let go of her love for him. Will had tried to make her realize she was worth so much more, and deserved someone better than the man she'd married but she just couldn't see it. He began to realize that when she looked at her husband she saw the man she had fallen in love with all those years ago, not the man he was now. In the end, it gave him a very disparaging outlook on love.

As he grew from childhood into a young adult he had become very cynical on the concept of love. It seemed to bring nothing but heartache and pain, why put yourself through that? It wasn't making his mother happy, despite her forced smiles and cheery disposition he could tell she was dying inside. There was no way he'd ever allow that to happen him, he would rather go through life alone than open himself up to someone who could hurt him like his father hurt his mother. Maybe at one time he was a good person worthy of her love, but he'd changed and no longer deserved it.

And then one day he'd met a girl with gleaming blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a radiant smile in a pink dress. She changed everything for him, his vow to never open up to anyone ended the moment she looked his way and flashed her smile for only him. It woke something in him, a desire and needing to be with someone, to share his days, his life and everything else he had to offer with her.

Anastasia was the only girl for him, he knew that. He would have done anything for her, if she'd wanted the moon he'd have found a way to get it just to see her happy. There was nothing in the world but her, and her smile. He treated her like the lady he knew she was, he was always conscious of what she wanted and when their relationship moved to the next level he'd been certain it was what she desired as well; he never would have dreamed of pushing her into something she did not want.

And then she'd betrayed him. After that, and having his heart removed, he didn't see the point to even considering love when it came to relations with women. If a woman was willing, he was more than ready. Why bother adding love into the mix? All it did was complicate things.

From the way Alice talked about Cyrus, and the few times he'd seen them together, he noticed their love was different from what he had once shared with Anastasia. And in a way, he envied them. It was the strangest sort of love he'd ever observed in his life; a part of him longed to experience something even slightly close to it. He'd give anything to experience any sort of love again, be it that strange, deep love Alice and Cyrus had for one another, or that passionate love he'd had with Anastasia.

With that thought going through his mind he quickly stood up and walked out into the night.

He hated being awake at night, all it ever did was cause him to think. Nothing good ever came of thinking, and he'd had enough of it in that bloody bottle. He'd actually hit a point he was trying to think of a way to trick someone into trading places with him. If he would have gone through with it was another story, maybe not right off but eventually he knew he'd have given into the desire to convince some unsuspecting soul to trade places with him. So in a way it was fortunate it was Cyrus who summoned him.

Will kicked at a rock on the ground, grumbling in frustration. This was such a mess, he'd only come to help find the genie, not have all this happen. He'd been reluctant at first based solely on the fact Anastasia was in Wonderland, and of course all the people who would love to have his head on a silver platter. He could have refused, a part of him wished he had refused but then Alice didn't deserve to spend her life broken over a lost love like he had.

Anastasia had made her choice all those years ago, and he'd made his. It wasn't the same mind; he hadn't watched her fall to her death as Alice had with Cyrus. In a way he mused he had watched her die, when she had walked out on the balcony the girl he'd loved had been slowly fading into the queen she'd become.

There was a small part of him, exceptionally small, that wanted to ask her why she'd betrayed him. It was a simple plan: steal the crown jewels and return to the Enchanted Forest. She'd never struck him as the type to be swayed by glittering trinkets and social status, but maybe he'd been fooled.

He sighed as he looked up at the clear, starlit night sky of Wonderland. Maybe he hadn't known her at all; it was possible she was just like her mother. The woman had always been a conniving shrew who was obsessed with her daughters marrying nobles. He'd always suspected she had a thing against men as well, the story behind that he'd never discovered and he didn't care either. The woman was no one now, just a fading memory of a past long gone.

"It is dangerous to be out at night," a voice softly said next to him, causing him to jump and lash out slightly in his surprise.

He felt his fist connect with someone full in the chest, and turned to look towards the origin of the voice to find Cyrus standing near him. "Oye, are you trying to get yourself killed? I could have hurt you!"

Cyrus grinned slightly. "Not without silver, you can inflict as much pain on me as you like but the only thing that threatens my life is silver."

Will shrugged, mentally reminding himself if they all survived this ordeal not to buy Alice and Cyrus anything silver as a wedding gift. That was if they even had a wedding, he had no idea if Alice ever planned to return to England as well as her family, and he was fairly certain Cyrus would have none to speak of now. "Seeing as you're up I have a question for you."

The genie tried not to groan, what was with all the questions? The only one not pestering him, thus far, was Alice. Although he supposed she was did not feel the need to know more about his past, and after the revelation he had once been human she felt it best not to press it as he was very reluctant to say much.

Despite everything Anastasia had done, he didn't mind talking to her of times long gone by. She was a royal, even if it was by marriage, so in a way it felt she was on the same level, even if he no longer thought of himself as royalty after so long serving others. With Alice, he feared she would begin to look at him differently; he saw her at times glancing at him with a wistful look, wondering if he could be mortal again and a touch of sadness would enter her blue eyes. If she knew what he had been he worried it would change things, either there would be nothing but pity in her eyes or she'd start to treat him differently. He was no longer a prince, but he simply could not shake the worry it would change how Alice felt about him, or saw him.

"What do you wish to know?" he inquired, a slightly defeated tone in his voice. He was tired of questions, why he couldn't leave the past buried was beyond him. Reliving it with Anastasia had been draining; he didn't want to go through it again with yet someone else. But he owed the Knave after wishing him back his heart.

Will almost felt guilty, Cyrus sounded less than enthusiastic about the prospect of more questions, but he wanted answers. He'd already drawn his own conclusions, but it would be nice to have them confirmed. "In your bottle there is a book of sketches, who are they?"

"My family," Cyrus simply stated, hoping it would be dropped after that. He had no desire to name them again, saying their names pained him as he knew he'd never see any of them again. Their memory would always live with him, but he was loathed to ever say their names.

Will thought about pressing for more, but thought better of it. He was still quite angry at Cyrus for wishing him back his heart, but in a way he could understand the heartache the genie was feeling. He had tried to avoid it for as long as he could, and maybe it had been a bit foolish to not put his heart back after all Alice had gone through to retrieve it but that was water under the bridge now. He unfortunately had to deal with the emotions he'd been trying to avoid, like it or not.

That didn't mean he wasn't longing to ask more questions, but it was late and a small part of him felt it wouldn't be wise. Once they were out of Wonderland he could pester Cyrus for everything he wanted to know.

"I suppose we should get back in there before one of them wakes up. Namely Alice, were she to wake up and find you gone I'm pretty sure she'd be up in arms thinking you had gone missing again," Will joked, nodding towards where he was certain the door was. He really wasn't going to get accustom to all these magical creations, he hadn't spent much time around it growing up.

A sudden gasp from behind stopped him in his tracks, and he turned to find Cyrus standing perfectly still, his eyes wide. He thought the genie had possibly lost it, as he could see nothing, until he followed his gaze towards the ground.

That was something new; in all his time in Wonderland he couldn't recall ever seeing a snake before. Granted he'd never been paying close attention as the reptiles didn't bother him all that much, unless they were the type that could kill him with a nasty little bite, but he could tell that one was of no consequence. He'd seen them numerous times back in Storybrooke, he'd observed enough little girls run screaming from them when they moved through the gardens in the park. That had always been cause for laughter to him, seeing as the snake was likely more afraid of them then they were of it.

He quirked an eyebrow as he looked at Cyrus again, realizing the genie was terrified of the creature slithering in the grass before him. "You have got to be kidding me, you're afraid of snakes? You, the one who decided it a brilliant idea to jump a few thousand feet down off a floating island. This is just far too much," he laughed, walking over and grabbing the snake just as it made its way onto Cyrus' boots, causing the genie to start breathing in short little gasps.

Cyrus watched him, completely dumbstruck Will would even touch the thing. It didn't seem to matter how long he lived, snakes still terrified him. He couldn't count the number of times he'd heard one outside his bottle when he was between masters and the irrational fear it could somehow get inside. He knew it couldn't, but he was so tiny when trapped in his bottle he had a terror that it would get him. A few masters had caught on to his fear as well, thankfully they had been the kind ones, and oddly that fear had made him seem more human to them. Those were the few times a master held off making their wishes, and actually gave him a slight reprieve from being nothing more than a possession and treated him more like a person.

He watched as Will tossed the reptile as far as he could, a slightly amused twinkle in his blue eyes as the Knave joked if the snake were adorned in any silver that would likely render him catatonic. He would have been insulted if it weren't for one realization dawning on him: Jafar was close at hand. The sorcerer had a strange affection for the creatures and he had likely caught on to his fear.

They had to get out of Wonderland, and the sooner the better but Cyrus was beginning to feel his worry that he wouldn't be leaving with them was becoming more a reality with each passing minute. He pushed those thoughts aside as he followed Will back inside, trying to pull himself together after what had just happened.

There was nowhere to truly hide, but Jafar was a master of the dark arts. He had cloaked himself in shadows to observe how Cyrus would react to the snake; just a harmless little garter snake had sent the genie into a slight panic attack. A grin enveloped his face as he began to entertain the thought of what sort of reaction a more venomous snake could inflict upon Cyrus.

He had no intention of allowing one to bite the genie, now or even when he finally had him back in his silver cage, but he wasn't against using them to keep his prisoner in line. It was fortunate that Cyrus had another weakness above his foolish notions about love and the desire to protect those he cared deeply for.

As the Knave and genie disappeared by the large rock Jafar stepped out of the darkness he was concealed in. It would be so easy to follow them, to kill that miserable little queen, the man she loved and Alice as well, all right in front of Cyrus to show him that there was no hope left for him. Anything to crush whatever spirit the genie had left, and make him more compliant.

It would be too easy, but then Jafar did enjoy toying with his victims at times. And there was no joy in killing when the victims were asleep, as he assumed the Red Queen and Alice likely were. No, he would wait until they thought they were about to make their escape from Wonderland. Kill them or injure them, it didn't matter which, so long as he had Cyrus in his possession by the end of the altercation.

That still left the question of the last wish and the bottle, if they somehow escaped him, but he'd worry about that after he had the genie again in his grasp. He'd waited this long to accomplish his goal, once he made it clear to Cyrus there was no escape or hope for him; he would finish off Alice and obtain the bottle.

With a wave of his hand the snake disappeared. This time he would not fail, he was certain of that.


	5. Many Types of Leaving

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

_Just a little note regarding a review...this likely can be chalked up to personal head canon but as to Cyrus' wishes when Will was in his bottle, I fancied Cyrus would be able to figure out a way to word a wish so it wouldn't backfire or have a nasty result. He's been a genie for a long time, and has likely seen so many go wrong, so where Will wished to 'end Alice's suffering', a very ambiguously worded wish, Cyrus would possibly be more specific. Honestly, when that wish was made on the show I seriously wondered if she'd end up dead (I am not the only one who thought that either). So that is why his wishes he made in the story haven't backfired, I just fancy he'd know how to word them._

* * *

_Jasmyn looked up when she heard someone enter the room, not overly surprised to see Cyrus walking towards her. They were spending a lot of time together, as their parents were attempting see if this marriage could be more than just an alliance; there was a slight hope the two of them could develop affection for one another. It was almost laughable to both of them, as it was more than obvious their fathers both saw them as nothing more than bits of property to be traded to strengthen their kingdom's ties._

_She wasn't sure if that would happen for Cyrus, but for herself she knew she could never see him as anything more than a good friend. In the past two weeks since her arrival she'd come to enjoy his company and talking with him, but she didn't feel the kind of adoration towards him she felt for Aladdin back home in Agrabah. Cyrus was a good man, be it a touch quick to temper at times, but he wasn't her true love and she knew that._

"_Good evening, your highness," she said as Cyrus walked towards her, a smile lighting up her face. It was one of the first times she'd seen him without a chaperone. They really didn't need one, as neither was interested in much other than talking about their day or relating stories of their childhood. Whenever he spoke of growing up with his brothers she couldn't help but marvel they were all still alive and with everything intact, including their wits._

_She was an only child, her mother had passed in giving birth to a second child and sadly the child had died not long after she had. It was an event that had saddened her father for many years, but he had tried his best to push it aside for the sake of his daughter. She knew he had grieved for his wife for many years, but he never allowed it to taint any of his time with her. She was aware he mourned the child as well, since it had been a boy, as it would have made things simpler. It was not long after that she began to hear about a Prince Cyrus her father was arranging for her to marry when they were both of age._

"_Please, call me Cyrus," he told her as he sat down next to her, smiling warmly._

_She couldn't help but return his smile; he did have that affect on everyone he met. If only she hadn't met Aladdin, maybe she would have fallen in love with the man she was supposed to marry. But the past could not be changed, and all she hoped for in this marriage was a good friend even though she knew there were certain expectations of them both and she felt she'd be betraying the one who held her heart in a way._

_She searched her mind for something to talk about, not that they always required conversation to fill the time. They could also sit and just enjoy silence in each other's company, it didn't matter to them._

_The sight of Raheem off in the distance walking at a fast pace did bring them into some conversation though. "Your brother is in a bit of a hurry," she observed, trying not to laugh as Cyrus rolled his eyes._

"_He has everyone convinced he's the quiet one, but in truth Raheem enjoys causing trouble more than Faarih. Although in a more subtle way," he commented, a touch of annoyance in his tone._

_Jasmyn raised a slender eyebrow questioningly, she could tell the brothers did have a habit of getting on each others' last nerve but Raheem seemed harmless enough. "He does seem the quiet type."_

_Cyrus nodded, that was Raheem. He was one who enjoyed his quiet time and being with books over people, but he'd noticed his brother had a touch of a mean streak in him. Although at times he was certain it was more jealousy, and that was why he spent far more time than was healthy telling their father tales of any little thing Cyrus did that might be questionable._

_He never bothered to inform Raheem he wasn't acting all that much of a prince himself, there was little point in starting a fight with him. They all could be good at causing trouble for each other, but he did find his second brother to be the worst for it. Faarih meant it all in his idea of good fun, but Raheem was normally being a little cruel._

_Jasmyn listened quietly as Cyrus related some of his brother's antics, to anyone else it might sound like the oldest prince was complaining but she realized he was just simply venting as being the oldest, or even the only child could be hard. She could remember days in her childhood watching children at play outside of the palace gates and wishing she could be one of them. Their lives seemed so carefree no matter if they were an only child or what birth order they came in, their lives just appeared easier to her._

_Of course after meeting Aladdin she discovered that wasn't always the case, but she did envy him his freedom to do what he pleased and to go where he wanted. There were days she wished she had that luxury, but then she realized whilst she envied them their freedom they desired the security she had knowing with each new day she had food to eat and all the comforts anyone could ever desire in life._

_The arranged marriage notwithstanding, she really did have more than enough to make life enjoyable, everything but the freedom to do as she pleased and marry who she loved._

"_It is strange, as royalty we want for nothing in the eyes of the people, yet we desire the liberties they have to choose who they wish to marry and to come and go as they please, and they'd trade most anything to have the security we have in knowing we'll be fed everyday and have somewhere comfortable to live," she offhanded commented, smiling a bit._

_Cyrus nodded in agreement; it was funny how life worked. "And in both cases, neither realizes that life could always be so much worse. If we could trade places for a day we'd likely discover we don't particularly care for the insecurity of their day to day life, despite all the freedoms, and they'd soon discover they hate all the strict rules and social obligations that come with privilege."_

_Jasmyn nodded, she couldn't argue with that. They both fell into easy conversation about everything and nothing, and became so engrossed in their conversations they didn't even hear anyone enter the room._

"_Cyrus! What are you doing?" Naseem snapped as he stormed into the room, Jasmyn's father, Yasir, trailing behind._

_They both looked towards their fathers, confusion clearly written on their young faces. "We were simply talking father, I thought that would please you," Cyrus said, rather confused by this outburst._

_For a moment he wondered how his father knew he was with Jasmyn, until he remembered Raheem. If he weren't already in hot water for everything that had recently occurred with Faarih he'd teach his other brother a lesson as well for meddling in his affairs. But with his luck that would just land him in even more trouble with their father and he truly was growing weary of all the lectures he was receiving of late._

_If it wasn't for some slips with his brothers, it was how he acted in court or his forgetfulness with some of the political lessons he'd had of late. Then of course there was everything with Nava, he wasn't exactly certain why that was such a problem, he'd let her go. Maybe she'd told some friends or her family of some of the things he'd confided in her. He really could trust no one it would appear, with the exception of Nadira._

_Before Naseem could speak, Yasir jumped in. "You know you are not to be with Cyrus without a chaperone my dear. It isn't proper for a girl your age," he scolded, and although it was obvious he was angry his tone still remained with an edge of gentleness in it._

"_Are you trying to create a scandal?" Naseem demanded, leveling his heir was a stern look._

_Cyrus stood up and looked his father in the eyes, he was growing rather tired of constantly being harassed over every little thing he did. He wasn't going to get out of this without a lecture in some form or another, so no harm in letting his temper loose. "No more than usual. I seem to be rather talented at causing some sort of scene or scandal, were you expecting anything less of me father? Would you like to call some of the courtiers to gather around so you can shame me in front of them once more?" he spat out, his eyes flashing with anger._

_Jasmyn placed a hand over her mouth to suppress a giggle, she knew she shouldn't laugh as Cyrus was provoking his father but it was rather amusing. Naseem was blowing it all out of proportion, but then the man did something none of them were expecting._

_Cyrus was completely shocked when he felt his father's broad hand connect with the side of his face. He reached up to touch his stinging skin, looking at his father with wide eyes. In truth, he knew better than to talk back, but at times he couldn't help himself. There were moments he acted first, and thought of the consequences of his actions after the fact. He'd expected to be dragged out of the room, like was customary when he angered his father, and receive yet another lecture on what was proper for a prince and heir to the kingdom._

_This was not what he thought would occur, and he was embarrassed it had happened in front of Jasmyn and her father._

"_As I seem to displease you, father, I shall remove myself from your sight," he said, his voice tight with suppressed emotion._

_Jasmyn watched as Cyrus walked out of the room, appalled at what had just played out before her eyes.. A few minutes later Naseem left as well, in a different direction than his son. She turned to her father and explained nothing had happened between her and her betrothed, to which he simply nodded and chuckled good humouredly._

"_I know that my dear girl, and I'm grieved at what has transpired due to an innocent meeting between you and the prince. But his father is very set in traditions and how things should be. You must keep that in mind here, Naseem expects things to be done a certain way and if either of you step out of line it will only raise his ire," he explained, squeezing her hands reassuringly in his._

_Jasmyn frowned; she really did not like the prospects of this palace very soon becoming her home. "I will make sure the next time we have another person in the room with us, but father, I don't really like Naseem all that much."_

_Yasir grinned at her, be it a touch sorrowful. He had never thought too highly of Naseem, but he'd always supposed his strictness and adherence to rules was more to do with having three sons to keep in line, but he was beginning to wonder. All three princes were good sons to their father, each had their own quirks and failings, but they tried to please him as best they could._

"_I know my dear, but it is a comfort to see Cyrus doesn't act much like his father."_

* * *

Edwin was starting to wonder about this story; it almost seemed as though it wasn't going to end with the happily ever after that Millie was anticipating. She expected any story with princes and princesses to end with a white wedding and them riding off in the sunset, madly in love.

He could tell if this Cyrus and Jasmyn did indeed wed, there would be no wedded bliss for them. A comfortable friendship, but nothing more. It seemed a strange tale to tell a child, but he could tell his daughter was highly invested in hearing it and he would not deny her the pleasure.

If only he could figure out why the name of the one prince felt so familiar to him.

* * *

Alice slowly awoke when she felt sunlight dancing upon her face. She really didn't want to wake up just yet; the White Rabbit wouldn't arrive for quite a few more hours, as he was late for everything. She'd much rather stay asleep, where she didn't have to worry about where they'd escape to before Jafar caught up with them.

Or how she'd convince Will they were taking Anastasia with them, whether he liked it or not. They were all leaving Wonderland together; no one was being left behind. If he wanted to part ways with them after the fact, she would be grieved to see him go but would not force him to stay with them.

If she were being honest, she didn't want to stay in the company of the former Red Queen either, once they left Wonderland, but she swore she could possibly do something with Cyrus' compass. If she could locate the mother of the man she loved, or her final resting place, she would put aside any resentment and distrust she had for Anastasia.

She figured if Cyrus felt she could be trusted, she would believe him.

Alice smiled when she felt warm lips pressed to her forehead, and opened her blue eyes to see Cyrus smiling at her. When she'd fallen asleep Anastasia had been lying on the other side of the bed, she had to admit this was an improvement to wake up to.

"Good morning," he greeted, smiling warmly at her as he reached over and ran his fingers through her tousled hair.

"Good morning to you as well," she answered, slowly sitting up on the bed. She glanced around the room, trying to discern where Will and Anastasia could be hiding. There weren't many places to stay concealed from sight.

She swore Cyrus could read her mind, as he told her they were outside. "They were discussing what we're going to do next. The conversation was getting rather heated so I requested they carry on their arguing outside so as not to disturb you."

Alice leaned over and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She didn't know what she'd ever done to deserve him, but she was glad to finally have him back in her life.

She pulled out of the kiss, smiling brightly. "So, has anyone an idea on where we should go? Will talked about some land with Care Bears, which sounded rather interesting and curious. I've never heard of bears that actual care about anything before, it might be a bit of an adventure," she suggested, noting the poignant expression that flitting through Cyrus' dark eyes for a moment. "Or not, if you don't want an adventure. We don't have to do anything you desire not to, you know that. If you feel a need for a rest and break from adventures, then that is fine. Did you have somewhere you think we should go?"

Cyrus nodded, but he was fairly certain Alice was not going to like it. This wasn't a sudden inspiration either; he'd given it a lot of thought before he'd proposed to her. It actually was an idea he'd tried to broach with her once before, but had lost his nerve, and he had a feeling she would be against it.

The book he'd read when he was mortal had talked of marriage, and one thing he'd always remembered was asking for the father's permission to marry their daughter. He loved Alice with all his heart and he wanted to do it all just right, but there was no way to speak to her father about his desire to marry his daughter. He wanted to suggest a trip back to England, but when he asked her about her home she never had happy stories to relate, so he'd let it drop.

This time though, they needed to find somewhere safe, a place they could possibly hide and somewhere Jafar wouldn't think they'd go. He'd thought of returning to the land he'd come from, but he had no desire to see how it had changed. He knew it wouldn't be what he remembered, and he feared to see the final resting place for each member of his family. It wouldn't be hard for him to find them, he could remember clearly where Nadira was laid in eternal slumber, it would stand to reason his parents and two brothers would be close by. Not to mention the empty grave that was to mark where he was supposedly laid to rest.

A small part of him wanted to see the Enchanted Forest, since he'd read about it so much in that book in a life that was long lost to him. He had asked Will about the place, wondering if that was possibly where he'd come from. The Knave had looked at him oddly, stating that he had indeed come from the place he'd read about. He figured the excited gleam in his eyes was what had Will confused, the man didn't realize the place was merely a story to him and a place he'd longed to see when he had been mortal, but his hopes were dashed when Will explained about a Dark Curse that destroyed the land.

Of course there was this place Alice mentioned, and Will had told him briefly people from the Enchanted Forest lived there, but it didn't interest him quite as much as the original land did. That only left one place: Alice's home.

Cyrus knew there were many realms, when he'd become a genie it had come with a lot of knowledge which he had no idea what he needed it for. All realms were magical, at one point, but some lost that magic as time moved forward. The one the Dark Curse took many of the inhabitants of the Enchanted Forest to was one, and Alice's was another. He felt it might be best to seek refuge in a realm that lacked magic, at least for awhile.

Jafar would catch up with them eventually, there was no doubt in that, but for a time to be somewhere that everything was just as it was had a certain appeal, but he knew Alice would be less than enthusiastic.

"You have already decided on where you want to go," Alice observed, her tone a little flat. She had a good guess where it was, and even though she wasn't thrilled with the idea she didn't want to deny him that request.

She didn't want to see her step mother again, she was an insufferable woman. Who convinces a grieving child, no matter their age, that they are insane and must go to an asylum? Although the doctors there were no better, at least they were indifferent to her, and left her be so long as she kept her mouth shut. Sarah was always finding some reason to pick at her, be it for her stories or just over how she wore her hair.

It was obvious she could never do anything right in that woman's eyes.

Alice did long to see Millie again, and she was curious as to what happened to her father after that wish to send him home. With the string to every wish, she worried he could have forgotten her, although maybe that would be for the best. He could be happy with his new family, completely forget her and her mother.

No, she didn't want to go back to England, there was nothing left there for her but she slowly began to realize there could be a new future there with Cyrus. There was no reason she had to seek out her father when they returned; she could find a way with Cyrus in that world. It wouldn't be easy, but she was more than up to the challenge if he was.

She reached out and took Cyrus' hands in her, bringing them up to her lips to place a light kiss on his fingers. "If you want to go to England, then we'll go. You do get a say in all this, I thought you were well aware of that by now," she said, trying not to laugh as he did that strange habit of his of looking away. "We do have two other people to consult first, but if they want to go to England as well, then we'll do what you want. Just because you're a genie again doesn't mean you don't get a say in all this."

"I know that, I just didn't want to suggest anything that would make you unhappy," he explained just as she silenced him with another kiss.

If it were possible, she'd much rather just stay hidden away where they were, but she knew Jafar would eventually find them. Not to mention Will and Anastasia might kill each other after being confined in such close quarters for too long. "I'll be happy wherever I am, so long as I have you at my side," she assured him as she broke the kiss.

Cyrus couldn't help but smile brightly at her when she said that. It meant everything to him to hear someone express such a sentiment after the last words he heard from some in his family before he'd been drawn into his bottle. "You do realize Anastasia will have to stay with us, or close at hand, as she is my mistress now," he said, to which she frowned a bit.

Alice had figured that was a likelihood, not to say she was fond of the prospect of having to associate with the former Red Queen. She appreciated the woman bringing Cyrus back to her, in a small attempt to make up for taking him in the first place but that didn't mean she wanted to become friends with her. It baffled Alice to an extent that Cyrus had fallen into some sort of friendship with the woman who had helped keep him captive, but unlike Will she didn't think Anastasia had an ulterior motive in this.

If Cyrus believed in her, then Alice would try as well.

* * *

Will watched as Anastasia moved her hand over the compass again, as if she actually knew what she was doing. He mused she likely had an idea, but the thing wasn't going to point towards anything. If Cyrus had said it quit years ago, then it had quit. He had no idea how magic worked, even after his brief stint at a genie, but it wasn't like it just needed a few parts replaced to make it work. The magic was broken, or the connection to the genie's mother was lost.

He knew Cyrus fancied his mother was dead, but didn't say it aloud. For all his callousness even Will wouldn't voice his opinion on the matter, he had no idea how many centuries Cyrus had been locked away in that bottle, and even though time moved differently in each realm there was no way it moved slow enough in whatever place he came from for his mother to still be living.

"Having fun are we love?" he asked, kicking at the ground for something to do.

Anastasia's head snapped up, her concentration broken. She was aware Will figured she was trying to get it to point, but she wasn't. There was no reason for that; it hadn't worked for Cyrus the entire time he was in Wonderland so it certainly wouldn't start now no matter what she did. She'd heard it worked for the Caterpillar, he'd found many things he'd desired using it so evidently the magic imbued within the compass was still there, but the link to his mother was severed by some means that she had yet to discern.

It could be death, as Cyrus assumed, but it could be a separation by realms as well. He had said it stopped long before he'd been wished as far from Jafar as possible. Magic was powerful, but it had its limits. A sad smile ghosted over her lips at that thought; it had its limits until that spell was cast and then anything would be possible.

She glanced up at Will, who was looking up at the sky with a bored expression. What she'd nearly done, all for him. She was slowly realizing it was a mistake; there were other ways to go back and change the past. Not in the literal sense, but to show that she was truly sorry for what she'd done. It wouldn't change the events that had happened that had brought her to this present time, but if she had used words and the right actions she could have helped bury the past and hopefully bring a different future for herself that might include Will.

"It isn't broken," she blurted out, pulling his attention away from whatever birds were flying above. She knew magic was something he had no concept of, other than not to mess with it, but he should know magic doesn't exactly break. It might weaken over time, depending on the spell, but it doesn't break.

Will shrugged, walking over to her and looking at the compass again. "Could have fooled me. What the bloody hell are you trying to do with the thing?"

"I'm casting a spell on it to point us to the realm his mother is in. When the rabbit digs his hole it will draw us to the realm she's in, be her alive or dead. It is the very least I can do to try to make amends for all I did," she explained, resisting the urge to slap Will when he snorted.

"I think it will take more than that," he shot back, amazed she thought a happy little family reunion would make everything better for Cyrus. That was if there was someone still alive related to him that wasn't a distant descendent of the people he once knew.

Anastasia shot him a fiery look, angry at his words. "I'm trying, why can't you see that? I realize I was wrong and I'm trying to make amends. If you'd stopped your arguing we'd have been out of here weeks ago, if you and Alice both had just taken my warning none of this would have happened."

Will laughed. "Why should any of us believe you?"

"You don't have to, but if Cyrus trusts me that should be enough until we get out of Wonderland. After that if you wi...want me out of your life, then I'll walk away. But until then, we need to put all our differences aside to get out of here before Jafar finds us," she retorted, catching herself before using a particular word. She had no idea how Alice had managed to omit that from her vocabulary for all those years. It was hard not to say it, and she knew she had to choose her words very carefully so she wouldn't accidently give Cyrus reason to believe she was going to betray him by using any or all of her wishes.

She swore to him she wouldn't, and she wanted to keep that promise. She was always good to her word, which one Tweedle had found out in a rather drastic way.

Jafar always enjoyed rather extreme overtures; she didn't see any harm as her last act as the Red Queen being one he'd appreciate.

* * *

_Pari glanced up from her painting when she heard her husband storm into the courtyard. She sighed, thinking back on days gone by, before her oldest and her husband had suddenly developed such a strained relationship. Many nights she'd listen to her husband relate every little thing Cyrus had done wrong that day, most of them trivial and not worth worrying about, but he was so caught up in his line of succession he couldn't see that his son and heir was trying his best to please his father, but still be his own person._

"_Where is he?" Naseem demanded, glancing around the courtyard to see if the offending party was hiding close at hand._

_Pari didn't need to ask who it was, only one child could get him this riled up. "I haven't seen Cyrus since this morning. You may like to know that slap you gave him a few days ago has left a nasty bruise on his face."_

"_Then when he sees his reflection he'll remember not to talk back to me," Naseem snapped, much to Pari's annoyance. She'd always known her husband had a bit of a temper, but this was getting to be a little much._

_She set her brush aside, motioning over a servant to take her things inside. She was done painting for the moment, and likely the rest of the day. Someone had to locate Cyrus before Naseem did; the man was in such a foul mood it wouldn't end well for their son. "What did he miss now?" she inquired._

_Pari was only half listening as her husband rattled off something to do with politics and meeting with dignitaries, in truth she didn't exactly blame Cyrus for wanting to shrug that off. He was only twenty years old, and his father had been pushing these sorts of obligations on him for most of his life. She always felt a pang of sadness when it came to her oldest son; he hardly had a chance to be a child. He may be a man by the court's standards, but in some ways he was still very much a boy, and she didn't blame him for wanting to shirk some responsibilities as of late, with the way Naseem was acting and all the marriage preparations over the past few weeks. The day of the wedding was only two weeks away, and she could tell both parties involved were stressed. But Cyrus was starting to act out over more than just the arranged marriage; he was asserting he could be his own person despite his father was trying to shape him to be a copy of himself._

_In the past year she'd noticed he was starting to rebel from everything he was supposed to be, in small ways. He wouldn't show up for important occasions, he would skip lessons at times and he was very adamantly against his arranged marriage. Whenever he brought that up Naseem simply talked about another practice which Cyrus shot down fast._

_She grinned slightly; glad her long hair was hiding her face from Naseem, that book from the Enchanted Forest really had become a problem. All of her children had read it, but for both Cyrus and Nadira it had become something more. A different way of life she fancied, as they both were going to be married to people they had never met before and may not grow to love in a romantic way. Nadira was unaware, but she had been betrothed to a crown prince in another kingdom shortly after her birth._

"_You go back to your guest husband, I will find Cyrus. It could be he has fallen asleep, there seems to be an illness among the servants and he may have caught it, and is simply attempting to sleep it off," she said, to which he nodded._

"_I have noticed, Nadira has been sick for quite some time. She hasn't left her room in days," he commented, the anger leaving his voice as he talked of their daughter._

_Pari had noticed this as well and it worried her. Both she and Naseem knew there were many among the servants who had died from whatever this disease was, but had not told their children of it. Faarih would be concerned; Raheem wouldn't be too upset as he was fairly certain he was above them. She knew he truly was good at heart, but he had a hard time showing it. Nadira and Cyrus were similar in personality and there was a chance they'd want to find a way to help, but only end up sick themselves._

_It was worrisome enough that it would appear Nadira had possibly caught the disease herself. She made a note to check on her daughter after she discovered where Cyrus had taken off to._

* * *

_After a few well worded questions addressed to Raheem, who was more than happy to disclose where his brother could be hiding, Pari found Cyrus. He hadn't been far from where she'd originally been painting in the courtyard; he always had a talent for being able to hide in plain sight._

_She turned the corner to find both Cyrus and Faarih quietly talking, well hidden by a low wall and some shrubbery that grew nearby. They were both quite engrossed in their conversation, whatever they could be talking about when one was a fourteen year old boy and the other a twenty year old. She smiled sadly, missing the days when they were both small and could spend hours at play, at least until Naseem would come along._

_As if on cue, she heard her husband walk out into the courtyard again. It had only been an hour prior she'd sent him back to his discussions with whoever these dignitaries were, but obviously he was intent on making sure Cyrus was in attendance. She could not understand his need for their son to attend everything; the man was in good health and would live a very long time yet._

_Pari made to stop him, hoping both Cyrus and Faarih wouldn't hear anything and continue with their lively conversation but sadly Naseem decided to make himself known by shouting the name of the son who had currently gotten on his last nerve, again._

_Faarih and Cyrus jumped slightly, the older of the two looking around quickly to see if he could escape. Even Faarih was trying to find some hidden passage to safety, but there was none to be found. "I'm sorry Cyrus," he whispered as their father came around the corner, only to find himself being held off by his wife._

"_Not now Pari," he snarled, as Faarih and Cyrus quickly stood, looking nervously at their father._

_The look on both her son's faces saddened her, they shouldn't be fearful of their father, ever. He'd always been quick to temper and all three of their sons had been on the wrong end of it before, but it was only recently he'd lash out physically at times. Granted he had to be exceptionally angry to get that way, but it was no excuse._

"_Naseem, enough of this. They were only talking and lost track of time. I doubt your meetings and talks were hurt by Cyrus' lack of attendance," Pari reasoned, wrapping her slender hands around his upper arm._

_He glanced from his sons to his wife, his eyes flashing with anger. "That isn't the point, he needs to learn to be responsible. What do you think this says to everyone? What sort of statement does it send when the crown prince can't be bothered to show up?" he demanded, his angry glare moving towards Cyrus._

"_I recall a young man I was married to at a young age who hated going to all these meetings and talks, who wanted nothing more than to hide away from his duties," Pari reminded him, trying not to laugh at some of the crazy ideas Naseem had back then in a bid to get away from all the obligations his own father had put upon him._

"_That is different, I never went through with any of those ideas. I always showed up," he argued, coming down a little from his rage when he found his mind wandering to those early days of his marriage._

_Pari smirked. "Only because you were always caught. You were clever, but not that clever. I'm sure the dignitaries will survive without Cyrus in attendance. You need to calm down, there is so much happening with the wedding that you need to focus your time wisely and flying into a rage over something like this does you no good."_

_She was glad to note Cyrus kept his expression neutral for a change when it came to any mention of his marriage, he'd likely figured since his father was calming down it was more than likely best to keep from getting him riled again._

_Suddenly a servant came running from out of nowhere, or at least to the royal family it appeared that way, a frantic look upon his aged face. Naseem was the first to notice him, and inquired what was wrong._

_The man stopped before them, taking a second or two to regain his breath after his exertion of running through the palace to find them. _

"_You majesties, the young princess has taken a turn for the worse. It is doubtful she will survive the night."_

* * *

It was well past noon and the White Rabbit still had not arrived. Will was pacing about, mumbling about what sort of side dish would go well with rabbit stew as he was starting to fancy having himself some, whilst the rest just tried to keep their nerves in check.

Alice kept checking skyward, not that she expected the rabbit to arrive that way, but she had noticed a darkness gathering in the distance. It didn't seem like a regular storm to her, and with how antsy both Cyrus and Anastasia had become in the past while she thought it was safe to assume it was magic, and most likely had something to do with Jafar.

They had already discussed where they were going, which had been a bit of an argument as Will longed to return to Storybrooke, Anastasia really didn't care where they went and Cyrus was adamant on England. Alice wasn't sure why he was so set on that, unless it had something to do with the lack of magic there. Maybe he thought they'd be safer, but he was hard to sway from his desire to go there.

Will had actually been the voice of reason in it all, much to everyone's surprise. He mentioned it would be best they went somewhere with magic to start, and then try to get the compass to take them to Cyrus' mum. Alice hadn't understood that at first, until Anastasia explained she'd enchanted it to take them to whatever realm the woman was in.

Cyrus was still against anywhere magical, but had let it go. Alice hated when he did that, as she could tell he was just doing it out of habit from centuries of bowing to the wants of others. He had inquired if the spell would not take them to the realm his mother was in regardless, but with the looming threat of Jafar Anastasia was afraid something would go wrong.

That was when Will started babbling about the rabbit and his exceptionally bad habit of being late. Alice had simply smiled, be it a bit strained, and went over to talk with him as she could tell this venting wasn't so much to do with the rabbit as it was to do with the fact he had to travel with his former love.

"Are you okay?" she inquired coming up beside him.

Will shrugged; he was about as okay as he could be when it came to be around Anastasia, with his heart back in his chest no less. "Bloody lovely, I'm guessing we can't ditch her highness before jumping into the rabbit hole can we?"

Alice shook her head, wondering why he asked when he obviously knew the answer. "She's the one with the compass and can use magic. She's also Cyrus' mistress now, so we can't go anywhere without her. I'm sure you can put any differences aside until we figure out where we're going to stay for awhile, or find his mother."

"Not sure I can," he blurted out, tilting his head back and exhaling. Will wasn't sure he could be around her for very long, every time he looked at her it just stirred up feelings he didn't want. He hadn't put his heart back in not only to avoid the heartache and pain her betrayal had caused him, but to avoid the longing for her as well.

He knew, deep down, he'd always love her. You never forget your first real love. The one you lived for, the one you'd have died for and done anything for. Anastasia was the person, he'd have given up his life for her if he'd had to at any point, whatever it would have took to make sure she was safe.

But it seemed to him she did not feel the same way, as she'd turned her back on him at the first chance of a sparkling crown. He didn't care what her reasons were; whatever she'd say would be lies now. She'd had years to think over what to say and how to say it to try to convince him it was nothing but truth. She was good, he'd give her that. It was at least twenty-eight years, for him anyway, to weave the most convincing web of lies to prove she had done it all for him. He'd never believe that, he'd never fall for her pretty smiles or the tears that would fall from her crystal blue eyes again.

He may be the Knave of Hearts, but he was no simpleton. No woman would make a fool of him again, even if he did have his heart back.

But that didn't stop him from glancing over to her, a slight pain in his chest as he watched her talk to Cyrus. Will tried to deny it, but he worried for her safety now that she owned the genie's will. Jafar would be coming for blood and he wouldn't care who he had to torture to get those three wishes made to put Cyrus back in his bottle.

Maybe he did care a little after all this time, but he was not going to listen to her lies or open himself up to her once more. He would never allow himself to be vulnerable to anyone again, Alice may babble about how love doesn't need proof but he begged to differ. There was nothing Anastasia could do to prove her love to him.

Anastasia noticed Will watching her out of the corner of her eye, but paid him no heed. He was being stubborn, which really wasn't anything new for him. She'd dealt with that before and she just had to wait it out. She had her doubts he would ever forgive her for what she did, and even less hope that he'd ever love her again but she wanted to explain to him what had happened that night.

But right then wasn't the time.

"He still loves you, deep down," Cyrus observed, watching the way the two looked at each other. He already knew Anastasia held strong feelings for the Knave, but he could also sense how much Will still loved her even if he was trying to deny it. In time he would give in, but the genie had a feeling it was going to be a very long time.

Will seemed to be the very definition of stubborn.

Anastasia smiled, brushing a few stray strands of blonde hair out of her face. The wind was really starting to kick up and she was beginning to worry the White Rabbit would arrive too late, like always. "I had a feeling; I doubt he'll admit it anytime soon. But I need to talk to you about something."

Cyrus tilted his head, he knew what she was about to say. He hadn't lied when he told her he could tell what a person was about to wish for before they even spoke, and although she'd promised not to use any wishes he could feel she wanted to make one. "I will not be angry."

"Ah, so you can tell when someone is going to make one. I did promise not to, and I never go back on a promise but it has occurred to me the bond between Alice and Will's fate needs to be severed. Not just because of Jafar, but should anything ever befall one the other will suffer the same fate. I don't think you want to see Alice die prematurely should something unfortunate happen to Will. I know I have no desire to see Will pass away before his time if Alice meets her end in an untimely way, no matter if he takes me back or not. He may never love me again, but I have no desire to see him hurt or suffering," she explained, glancing again towards Will.

She'd thought that wish rather ill advised, but of course in the spur of the moment one may not think things through. She personally would have wished Jafar powerless, but maybe a genie's magic couldn't do that. Alice would possibly know better than anyone else gathered at that time, aside from Jafar, how it worked.

"Speak the words, and I shall do as you command," Cyrus stated, his eyes seeking out Alice as he spoke. He hoped she wouldn't be angry a wish had been used as it was for the benefit of both her and her friend.

Anastasia still felt strange going back on her promise, but it was for the best. "I wish for Alice's life to no longer be tied to the Knave of Hearts'," she wished, watching as a strange golden light appeared between Cyrus' hands.

"As you wish, mistress mine."

* * *

_There were few candles to light the way, but he knew how to find Nadira's room with his eyes blindfolded. The lack of flickering candlelight would not hinder him, he had to see her._

_Their parents thought they'd sheltered all their children from the illness going through the palace, but Cyrus had heard whispers of servants passing away from a disease that ruined the lungs. When Nadira had first begun to feel ill he had worried, and now he was terrified that she would soon be taken by the same illness that had already claimed so many._

_He reasoned the person who surmised she would not last the night could be wrong; Nadira was young and strong, she could pull through. He hoped and prayed she would as he could not imagine his life without her cheerful laughter ringing through the halls or her smile that could lift anyone's spirits._

_As he slipped into her rooms, a hand gently grabbed him by the arm. He turned to see his mother in the faint candlelight spilling forth from his sister's bedroom. She looked exhausted, and her eyes were rimmed with red. He could tell she'd recently been crying. "Where are you going Cyrus?"_

_Pari really didn't need to ask, it was more than obvious but she knew she should stop him. This disease was spreading fast, she knew there was always a chance her sons could contract it as well but she didn't want to allow them too close to anyone infected._

_But the desperate look in Cyrus' brown eyes stayed her rebuke. Maybe, just maybe, Nadira was sick with a different disease. Maybe it wasn't the same one that was taking lives at a steady rate through the palace servants. Maybe Nadira would survive the night and regain her health._

_Yet Pari had strong doubts her daughter would see sunrise._

"_I must see Nadira," Cyrus beseeched, keeping his voice low so as to not disturb his sister._

"_Your father forbade any of you to enter this room," Pari reminded him, pulling him slightly out of the room. "Yet I had a feeling you wouldn't listen."_

_Cyrus grinned ever so slightly. "How well you know me, but I must see Nadira if this is the last time."_

"_I would hate to deny her your company, as that is what she asked for before she fell asleep. Nadira may not wake up again, be prepared for that. I hope by this late stage she is not contagious but sadly any of us could already be infected and not realize it yet," Pari said in answer to his plea._

_She let go of him and watched sadly as he went to his sister's bedside. It pained her to watch as he gathered Nadira's limp form up in his arms, not caring if she was contagious or not._

_Pari considered going to sit with them, but she'd already spent hours with Nadira and had made her peace with the fact it was more than likely the last time she'd speak to her daughter in this life. She would not intrude on whatever time Cyrus and Nadira had left to spend in each other's company._

_Nadira did wake, she noted, and there were words spoken in soft whispers. It was strange to see how distressed Cyrus was against Nadira's calm. She wasn't sure how long the conversation between the siblings lasted, but she knew it was a lot longer than a few minutes, somehow Nadira managed to hold on as long as she possibly could. The younger of the two had come to realize this was her last time with her brother, and it broke Pari's heart to watch. _

_Just as the sun was beginning to paint the sky with shades of amber and rose, what was left of her broken heart shattered as Cyrus began to weep, holding the lifeless body of his sister close. _


	6. An Escape and the Beginning of the End

_Standard disclaimer applies: I own nothing, this is all for fun._

Millie nibbled at her cake, starting to wonder if she wanted to hear the rest of this tale. Pari had said from the beginning that the princess didn't live but it still made her sad to hear Nadira's mother and oldest brother had been there when she'd died.

Tears stung her eyes, and she reminded herself this was all a story; none of it was real. Pari was just a good storyteller; she made it sound real and like these people did exist in a time long ago. They weren't real, none of it was. This was just like the other stories her mum didn't let her read, just with a really sad part in the middle before the happy ending.

Of course there would be a happy ending; she knew there had to be one. There was a wedding still, and when Cyrus married Jasmyn they would fall in love and live happily ever after. That was what happened in fairy tales, so it had to come to pass in this one she was hearing now.

All Millie had to do was get through hearing the sad parts first, and then she'd get the happy ending.

* * *

"What the bloody hell was that?" Will shouted as he felt something rush over him. A glance at Alice told him she knew exactly what had just happened, and she almost looked upset.

Anastasia walked over, the bottle still clutched in her hand. How she longed for that rabbit to just show up so they could get out of Wonderland. The wind was really blowing now, the dark clouds were steadily drawing near and she knew this was only a forerunner to Jafar. Sometimes he enjoyed putting on a show, not often, but this time he seemed to desire it.

Or he was trying to put them all off balance so they would make a mistake in their escape. The sorcerer was impossible to predict, and she knew that idea was even as unlikely as the rest. The only thing she knew was he would come for them, and the sooner they were all safely out of Wonderland the better.

"You made a wish," Alice asserted, her blue eyes widening with surprise. "You swore you wouldn't."

"I had to. Your first wish had to be undone, leaving your fate linked to Will's would just bode ill for both of you over time. Did you want to spend the rest of your days wondering what sort of trouble Will could get into that would result in his death, and yours' by extension?" Anastasia asked, her eyes pleading for them to understand her reasoning.

"Hey, maybe she'd be the one off doing something bloody stupid that would end up with me dead before my time," Will argued, but there was no hint of anger in his voice just an underlying note of slight amusement. "Look Alice, I love you like you were my own sister, but dropping dead the exact moment as you isn't high on my list of experiences I'd want to share with anyone."

Anastasia shook her head, trying not to smile. Either of them could do something foolish that would cost the other, but at least Will wasn't angry at her for the moment. She knew there would be fighting later, but for now they seemed to have a temporary truce.

"I suppose it wasn't the best wish to make, but it was in the heat of the moment," Alice acknowledged as Cyrus walked over and took her hands in his. She pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around him as she rested her head on his shoulder. Soon they'd be safe, the threat of Jafar would be behind them and they could move forward trying to find his mother.

Cyrus glanced up at the sky; the air was ablaze with magic. Alice and Will couldn't feel it, but he knew Anastasia could sense it as well. It amazed him Jafar had waited this long to come seeking them, he knew the sorcerer was a patient man but everyone had their limits. This storm seemed to indicate Jafar had finally reached his.

"It's about bloody time!" Will cried out when he saw the familiar form of the White Rabbit walking towards them.

They all turned to see who they'd been waiting on most of the day walking through some tall grass, with an apologetic look on his face. He fidgeted with his jacket a bit as he tried to explain why he was late, yet again.

Surprisingly, it was Cyrus who cut him off. Alice could tell he was getting nervous, he really didn't have many tell tale signs, there was just something about how he moved or even the inflections in his voice that told her when he was becoming anxious. "We don't have time for one of your usual excuses; please just dig your hole so we can get out of here before it is too late."

Will whistled at that, he never thought he'd hear Cyrus use a firm tone. The way Alice spoke of him the genie was the picture of poise and calm. This certainly did not quite follow in line with that, which actually made Cyrus feel a little more like a person to Will. It was great hearing all of Alice's memories of her time with him, when he didn't feel like he was getting cavities that is, but it did seem like the object of her affections had very little to no personality.

Evidently that had been way off the mark, but then one could never make assumptions until they met someone. He turned and looked at the rabbit, who was standing there looking a little taken aback. "Well, you heard the genie; dig your bloody hole and get us out of here before one of us, or Jafar, makes rabbit stew."

"Where to?" the rabbit asked, deciding he really shouldn't be too insulted by the tones of voice he was getting from the two who had chosen to speak so far. He had aggravated Cyrus before, and Will was always short tempered.

Will took a minute to process what was being said, still marveling at the clipped tone the genie had spoken in a few moments ago. He took one look at Cyrus and noted a certain expression burning in his eyes, and he was fairly certain there was no love lost between the rabbit and him. He actually wondered what the White Rabbit could have ever said to anger Cyrus.

The White Rabbit tugged at the lapels on his jacket a bit, glad Cyrus couldn't use his magic at will. He had thought that suggestion all those years ago on how to keep Alice safe was water under the proverbial bridge, but evidently not. It would appear he was holding a slight grudge over that, although it was hard to blame him. That suggestion might have been well meaning, but he should have figured, like Alice, Cyrus had been alone for so long he wouldn't appreciate being told he should give up the person he loved to live a solitary life again.

"Storybrooke."

"England."

Will and Cyrus glanced at each other, having both spoken at the same time. Even Alice seemed slightly surprised, she was so accustom to Cyrus not arguing after a decision had been made that she had figured they were going to the place Will had spoken about with care bears and something called a telly. It made sense to go to Storybrooke; at least there was magic and ways to travel from realm to realm once they decided to go in search of his mother.

In England there was no way to leave, unless the rabbit decided to take a trip or Alice chanced upon a portal by mistake. And even then it would just bring them back to Wonderland. She had never understood why she found them so easily, she supposed after one trip the realm would somehow find a way to bring her back.

This time though, she didn't want to come back. Not so long as Jafar was around.

"Look, we already decided on Storybrooke, there are people there that can help us realm jump again if we need to," Will stated, to which Cyrus shook his head. The Knave could tell this was not going to be an easy argument, and had a feeling the other was going to argue every point he made.

Cyrus was tired of doing what everyone else wanted; he'd spent centuries doing as he was told. Maybe it was from reliving his past with Anastasia, but a small part of who he used to be was starting to awaken in him. Of course he couldn't order everyone around on a whim, but he most certainly wasn't going to be pushed around on this matter. "I will not go anywhere with magic, I am weary of being around it."

Will couldn't help the burst of laughter that broke forth from his lips. "That's rich, coming from you! We've already talked about it, once we're in England we're there, no leaving, no finding your mother or anything else. We can't leave England, at least in Storybrooke we can find help to move from realm to realm. At a price," he explained.

Anastasia's head snapped up at that, she'd been busy studying the ground to stay out of the argument that was heating up. It would cost them to find a way to move from realm to realm from Storybrooke, which could only mean one thing. "You surely are not suggesting Rumplestiltskin, there isn't a one of us who could pay the price for a bit of magic or a favour that high."

Will waved a hand at her dismissively. "He's mellowed out, never mind the time he almost beat that florist to death. Oh, and bringing magic back so you want to stay clear of Regina, but come to think of it he might not do me any favours. I did steal from him a few times during the curse and he might want that stuff back. But I'm sure Alice and Cyrus here could charm him enough to get some help out of him."

"You're insane, he won't help us! Not without a price none of us can afford to pay," Anastasia repeated, her voice taking on a frantic edge. She would not deal with that man. With their luck he'd want the compass as recompense for the favour, making the whole deal a moot point.

Alice looked from Anastasia to Will, wondering what was so horrible about this person they spoke of. She could remember storybooks as a child saying he turned straw into gold, and deals for first born children but other than that she had no idea what the big deal was. She'd happily pay whatever price it was to find Cyrus' mother again. She'd grown up without a mother, or even a father's love, if she could somehow give him back his mother she would pay whatever price. He'd done so much for her, it was the least she could do.

"I said no, I will not go and make deals with this person. All magic has a price, I would think you would understand that Will," Cyrus argued, pulling away from Alice and walking towards the man who was agitating him.

Will took a few steps back, starting to wish the genie was the picture of poise and calm still. Maybe this show of emotions and a different bit of personality wasn't such a good thing after all, considering he was rather sturdy looking. Will was fairly certain if they came to blows over this, he'd be the loser. "Look mate, I get it. Trust me, I understand there is a cost when magic is involved now but we can't go from realm to realm in England. Unless you just want to come back here and somehow I doubt that," he refuted, raising his hands in a slight gesture of surrender.

"I said no, and that is final. I will not go to this place you call Storybrooke. We are going to England," he stressed, his tone leaving little room for argument. It was more than obvious to all gathered he was not going to be swayed on this.

But Will always enjoyed a challenge, and quite frankly this trip to Wonderland likely set him back weeks or even months on her favourite show on the telly. He knew he was being frivolous, but it was easier to focus on the things of no consequence then everything that had happened since he arrived. They were going to Storybrooke, and nothing the genie could say would change that. "Look, it is wonderful you've finally decided to be more assertive but pick another place and time. We're going to Storybrooke and that is final."

"I have already told you we're not, this matter is closed and there will be no more arguments made on the subject," Cyrus maintained, crossing his arms across his chest as he leveled Will with a stern glare.

Anastasia quirked a slender eyebrow as Alice watched the exchange curiously. She was well aware Alice wasn't putting two and two together, but she could tell something had snapped and they were getting a slight glimpse of who Cyrus was before he'd been turned into a genie.

"Oh sure, your highness, we'll just take the stupid plan of action and get stranded in England because you're tired of being around magic," Will mocked, feeling frustrated that they were fighting over this when there was no reason to. They needed the rabbit to dig the hole, and he'd rather not be part of the reason they didn't get away this time.

The shock on Cyrus' face was hard to miss at the title Will had addressed him with. He glanced over to Anastasia who shook her head; although he knew instinctively she wouldn't have betrayed his confidence. It was simply a strange coincidence with the word Will had decided to use.

Alice watched with intent at the quick exchange of glances, and the way Cyrus had reacted to what he'd been called. She'd always wondered, after finding out he'd once been mortal, who or what he'd been. The way he talked, despite the fact he was constantly very passive, made her think he'd been of a higher class in whatever land he'd originated from. But now, with how he'd reacted to that title she was beginning to draw a very strong conclusion that he'd been more than just upper class.

Will though, he had already drawn the conclusion Alice was coming to. He hadn't meant to toss that word out, but it did answer the rest of his questions. That book of sketches had made him wonder, Cyrus had been very detailed in everything; the clothing, the backgrounds and anything else that could have been around what he could remember of his family. He'd seen books whilst under the curse, not in the library of course, but in a book store. He always liked anything that showed photos or illustrations of palaces and the likes. He might have been cursed with a different personality, but he still fancied the concept of nicking things from people better off than himself.

Cyrus' drawings had put him in mind of court life in countries in the Middle East in that realm, and from the look on the genie's face he'd nailed it on who he was before he'd been made into a mythical being. He knew he shouldn't smirk, but he couldn't help it. "Must feel nice ordering people around again," he joked, noting the conflicted look in Cyrus' face. It was more than obvious he wanted to shout at him, but at the same time he did have to do as people wanted.

Will didn't envy him that, in a way he had the same problem just about everyone back in Storybrooke had; two different people at war in one body. The only difference here was Cyrus technically was still who he used to be, only he'd had to bury it and change the way he acted.

"Let it go Will, you'll only make things worse. We need to get out of here and fast," Anastasia pleaded, realizing by the look on Will's face he was reaching a breaking point. The one thing Will had always hated was when people talked down to him. Her mother had done so numerous times, and he'd normally kept it to himself but once in awhile he'd let the flood gates open and allow it all out. That never ended well.

Will glanced over at her, disbelief in his face. "Like hell I'm going to let this go, we're not making a stupid choice just for him. He might have been a prince a long, long time ago but he isn't now. I won't be ordered around, and we're not going to England. Once we get there we're trapped, and since you're all bent on finding his mother I don't think that would be a wise choice, no matter what his highness here thinks."

"Stop calling me that," Cyrus snapped. "I do not wish to be addressed so."

"Ah well, you're the genie now. Genies don't get wishes, remember?" he shot back, regretting instantly being so harsh. His emotions were running high, the storm was closing in and they were no closer to getting out of Wonderland. Although he didn't regret it too much, as once he started running at the mouth he found it hard to stop. "You had a chance to be free, but you had to be a fool and take all of that back. All your talk about love and the first chance you get at spending your life with the person you love, without anything standing in the way, and you run."

Cyrus took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. It would do no good to start a fight with Will, be it with words or physically. He knew everyone's emotions were running high, words were being thrown about like weapons meant to wound and he wasn't going to be drawn into a fight. But he was not going to this place called Storybrooke either. "Did you long to remain in that bottle?"

"Of bloody course not! I'm sure I could have gotten out of it eventually, I'm anything if not resourceful," Will argued. "But that has nothing to do with this."

"It doesn't matter, I freed you. I told you it was I who took on that life, not you. I could have left you, I considered leaving you as you were but I could not. You ended up in my bottle by mistake, and as much as I long to be free I know that wasn't how it was to happen," Cyrus said, glancing over at the White Rabbit and wondering why he wasn't digging a hole. They had to leave and soon.

Anastasia walked over and grabbed Will by the arm, but was pushed off quick. "Will, there's no time for this. We can argue, fight, scream and insult each other all we please once we're safely out of here. Why Cyrus took all that back from you is neither here nor there at this exact moment, just be glad to have your freedom and let it go. We need to get out of here!"

The White Rabbit looked at them all, but didn't say a word as he started to dig a hole. He didn't understand what difference it made which world they went to, but he thought maybe he could atone a bit for what he'd said to Cyrus all that time ago about leaving Alice for her own safety. They didn't need to know he was sending them to England until they arrived there.

If Cyrus wanted to go to England, he'd dig a hole there. Maybe with Cyrus at her side Alice could begin to mend her relationship with her father as well. Besides, if they were so desperate to get to another realm after England all they had to do was wish it, if Cyrus had been wished from one realm into Wonderland, surely they could wish for him to take them to Storybrooke.

All they had to do was make sure one of them held his bottle when a final wish was made.

Will glanced over at the rabbit, pleased to see he was beginning to dig a hole. They'd decided on Storybrooke and that was where they were going. "Look, we're getting out of here and I don't care who or what you used to be, or the fact you seem to think you can start ordering people around again. And trust me, I want to know what you mean on how that isn't how it was to happen as well. But first, we're getting out of Wonderland before it is too late!"

"How sad for you all, it is already too late."

* * *

_Today should have been his wedding day._

_The thought crossed Cyrus' mind as he sat quietly by the one fountain Nadira seemed to like. He never was sure what it was about it, there were other fountains on the palace grounds but this was the one she'd always gravitate towards. Maybe she thought there was something magical about it, or the vantage point gave her a view of something he was just was not seeing, but it was her favourite._

_He felt slightly closer to her when he sat there, even though he knew she was gone and had been for a few weeks._

_It surprised him slightly when his father and Yasir postponed the wedding, but he was thankful they had done so. Everyone was in mourning, and a wedding so soon after a funeral seemed inappropriate. A few people in the court thought maybe it would brighten everyone's spirits and he'd feared his father might actually go along with it, but he'd admonished them for even voicing such thoughts._

_There would be no celebrating the beginning of the joining of two lives together after one had so recently departed. For once, Naseem was not thinking of what had to be done, he was considering what should be done for the sake of those in mourning._

_Sadly though, Cyrus had begun to notice others seemed to be taking ill with the same cough that had plagued his little sister. In truth he'd noticed the disappearance of some servants in the past few months, but had assumed his father had given them different duties to attend to or had simply let them go. It had never occurred to him that they had died, not until Nadira had died in his arms._

"_Cyrus?"_

_He glanced up to see Jasmyn standing a few feet away. She appeared to be nervous, at least the way she was twisting her long hair in her hands gave way to that assumption. And she was rocking slightly back and forth, which he had to admit was kind of endearing. Maybe this arranged marriage wouldn't end in misery, whenever it came to pass. No new plans had been made as of that moment, at least not that he knew of. "Is something wrong?"_

_Jasmyn bit her bottom lip, not sure if she wanted to be the one to break the news to him. She could tell he was still trying to work through the grief from Nadira, something that would take a long time. She had thought to leave it to Naseem to tell him, but the man had insisted the news come from her._

_She hated to be the bearer of bad news. She was hating it even more as he smiled at her, trying to ease her nerves. Maybe the wedding should have happened as planned, she still loved the man she'd left behind but she could learn to enjoy a life with Cyrus as well. Which was making this harder for her to tell him._

"_Your mother is sick, and with the same disease that took Nadira. From what I've been told she likely only has a few days, at most, to live."_

* * *

"Bloody hell."

Will felt that was a bit of an understatement, but it was his usual expression when anything seemed to be going south, and this situation had more than gone south. It had gone straight to hell without taking any detours so far as he was concerned.

Jafar was not playing games this time around. Sure, he'd stood there being menacing for awhile and taunted Alice with everything he'd do to her genie once he owned Cyrus' will. No one bothered to inform the sorcerer that the person in question had a new mistress, and she had two wishes between him and that becoming a reality, although he'd most likely start to figure out something was wrong when he couldn't seem to inflict any harm on three of the four of them.

The sorcerer had either forgotten about the rabbit or felt he wasn't worth the time. Although Will began to surmise Jafar wanted them to escape, or three of the four at any rate. To what end he had in mind with that, he couldn't even begin to fathom. So far as he could understand, Cyrus was useless to him without the bottle and the wishes being used up.

At least the sorcerer hadn't realized yet that he couldn't hurt Anastasia, Alice and himself. As if on instinct, they all made sure to dodge any attack, or to retaliate in one way or another, all to keep him from realizing something wasn't right with the situation. If he found out they were impervious to harm, he may realize something had happened in those weeks he'd seemingly allowed them a reprieve.

It all seemed to be going well until Alice didn't move fast enough and was hit by a blast of magic Jafar had sent her way. If they weren't in such a dire predicament Will likely would have laughed at the expression that washed over the sorcerer's face when nothing happened. The confusion was gone a second later, giving way to fury.

"What did you do?" he snarled, turning his attention to Cyrus. With a motion of his hand he cut off the genie's breathing passage, causing him to fall to his knees as he desperately fought for air.

Alice ran over to him, trying to find some way to help despite the fact there was nothing any of them could do. Will didn't envy him, he remembered quite well the terror that went through his mind when Jafar had used the same trick on him. Although he was quite certain it wouldn't kill Cyrus, he was positive genies were immortal, but it wouldn't make life pleasant for the time being.

"Stop it Jafar, and if you'd just think he can't answer you if he can't breathe!" Anastasia snapped, glaring at her former associate. She was really beginning to wonder if he ever thought anything through.

Jafar grinned, a most unappealing sight to all gathered. "I don't need him to answer, I've grown quite accustom to the fact he won't answer me with anything but half formed truths. But you three, you'll answer. It is true he is hard to kill, but I doubt any of you can stand to watch a friend suffer."

"Look, he didn't do anything," Will said. Part of him was still angry at Cyrus for his second wish, but he couldn't stand to see the frantic look in Alice's blue eyes as she watched the man she loved struggling to draw in air. "Okay, well, technically he did but that isn't the point here. There was a little role reversal thing that happened with Alice's last wish and Cyrus was set free for a little while. But then he used his three wishes to protect us against you, wish me back something I didn't want and then set the roles back right. So you can let the poor guy breathe again now!"

Anastasia groaned as the sorcerer let his magical hold on the genie go. That was just what they needed; Jafar now knew Alice was no longer Cyrus' mistress. "Will, do you ever think before you speak, darling?"

Cyrus collapsed to the ground, gasping for air while Alice moved her hand in soothing circles on his back. Jafar looked at them for a moment, annoyed. Maybe he shouldn't have waited so long to seek them out, but then the spell wouldn't have worked with the wrong person in the bottle. It was very specific, mind he could have just used a wish to put Cyrus back where he belonged and the proceeded to kill the Knave for fun.

He might have enjoyed that as well, but it was water under the bridge. "I'm glad to see the object of your affection tends to run at the mouth, my dear girl," he commented, his voice betraying his amusement. "But he failed to tell me who holds the genie's will now. It certainly isn't Alice; a genie cannot belong to the same person twice. That only leaves two other options, and something tells me it isn't your dear Knave."

Alice tuned out the conversation, she could tell Jafar had figured out who was in possession of the wishes, but he couldn't do anything to Anastasia to force her into using them. Unless he went after the remaining Tweedle and somehow she had her doubts that would really force the woman's hand all that well. "Come on, we have to get out of here," she whispered as Cyrus began to stand.

"Promise me Alice, no matter what, you're going to leave Wonderland. With or without me," Cyrus suddenly said, grasping her hands in his.

"Don't talk like that, we're all going together," she assured him, pulling him towards the hole the White Rabbit had dug. They were all getting out of Wonderland together, she wasn't sure how but they were leaving.

Cyrus pulled back, much to her shock. She turned to look at him and was rather confused by the frightened expression on his face. She looked down and could see nothing of concern, but obviously he thought there was. He stood completely still, his eyes wide and breathing shallow.

She glanced over when she saw a flash of red tumble to the ground. The three of them may be protected from harm, but it obviously didn't mean that Jafar couldn't toss them about if the notion struck him and it obviously had. Anastasia was currently picking herself up off the ground, her blue eyes darting about frantically in search of something.

It was that moment Will finally decided to let his heart take over and grabbed his former love by the arm and began pulling her towards the rabbit hole. "Come on, whatever little bauble you think you lost is not important," he said as she tried to pull out of his grasp. She'd forgotten just how strong he was, as she couldn't get free.

"It wasn't a bauble! I dropped the bottle, and in case you've failed to notice our genie is having some issues of his own!" she exclaimed, digging her heels into the ground in an effort to make him stop moving. It was just great he'd decided it was time to get out of Wonderland, and fast, but they couldn't leave without the very reason Alice had come back in the first place.

Will's head snapped around to see Cyrus looking very similar to the night before, making him let go of Anastasia and searching around for any more little garter snakes. A quick scan of the area proved there were none, making him wonder what exactly had the genie looking to be on the verge of a panic attack.

Jafar snickered, enjoying the panic and confusion playing out before him. "Oh, I suppose I could let you in on the little secret going on here," he chided, waving his hand to reveal what was keeping Cyrus from moving.

Both Alice and Anastasia took a few steps back, their eyes sparkling with a tinge of fear. Will mumbled his usual 'bloody hell', glaring darkly at the sorcerer. "Had to go all out didn't you?" There was no chance he was going to saunter over this time and grab the snakes that were currently holding Cyrus perfectly still. Cobras were not the sort of snake he felt like handling, be them magically conjured or not.

"He's afraid of snakes?" Anastasia marveled, that was something that she'd never picked up on in all the time she'd been around him, whilst he was being kept prisoner and during their travel that had been the beginning of their friendship. Like Jafar, she'd noticed the genie's dislike of the sorcerer's serpent staff, but she'd never entertained the idea Cyrus was afraid of what creature it was fashioned after.

Alice glanced towards the rabbit hole, and back to Cyrus. Her eyes were beginning to blur with tears as she was starting to realize why he'd brought up her leaving without him. He'd been evading Jafar for a long time, and she knew despite his normally optimistic views on life he had also been certain one day his luck would run out and Jafar would catch him. Right about then, it was pretty obvious they might have to leave and formulate a plan to come back and rescue him, again.

Will moved towards Alice, putting an arm around her shoulders as he could tell she was torn on what to do. Jafar couldn't hurt them, but it didn't mean he couldn't find other ways to break them, or even find a spell that would be able to find a way around their invulnerability to any harm Jafar could inflict upon them.

There was the very real possibility he could torture Cyrus right before their very eyes in order to break them, in a bid to force Anastasia into using her wishes. Of course they could attempt to force Cyrus to move, despite being frozen with fear, but Will had a feeling a snake bite wasn't included in the 'safe from harm caused by Jafar' part of the wish. They might be made by Jafar, but they weren't exactly controlled by him.

There really was no way around it; they were going to have to leave Cyrus behind. They couldn't take on Jafar, and Will knew that he wouldn't kill the genie so long as he needed him alive. Once they were in Storybrooke they could find a way back to Wonderland, as well they might be able to find a few people to help them as well. He could think of one or two people who always enjoyed a heroic quest.

He lightly touched Alice on the shoulder, getting her attention. "I'm sorry, but there is no way around this. We'll find help and come back, I promise."

Alice looked back to Cyrus, mouthing an 'I'm sorry' to him, although she wasn't sure he even noticed in his panicked state. He was obviously terrified of snakes, not that she could blame him right then and there.

"You know we'll be back for him, don't you?" Anastasia ground out, still looking around for the bottle. Maybe it had fallen through the rabbit hole, she'd landed close to it when she'd taken that tumble.

Jafar grinned. "I'm counting on it, darling."

Cyrus was vaguely aware of them leaving; it really didn't matter as all he cared about was them getting away safely. They were safe from any magical harm Jafar could come up with, but the wish wouldn't save them if he decided to impale them on the bottom end of his staff. He'd seen that wish before, and was glad they were smart enough to realize it wasn't all encompassing.

Once the portal out of Wonderland closed, Jafar flicked his hand and the snakes dissipated. Cyrus didn't wait to see what he was going to do next, he started to run. He didn't know where he was going, or where he was going to hide but he was going to give it his best shot. The home he'd made for Alice was not an option, if Jafar had found them he likely knew about that.

He didn't get very far before he felt something tighten around his ankles, causing him to fall unceremoniously upon the hard ground. A second later his wrists were secured together as well with a thick rope. He could feel an all too familiar tingling sensation and knew there was silver threaded through the twine. Jafar had really given this a great deal of thought.

Cyrus wasn't one to give up easily though, he pushed himself up to a sitting position and tried to reach for his ankles, if he could untie that bit of rope he could still run. He didn't care about the burning sensation as his fingers would brush against the threads of silver; he just needed to get away.

He didn't get very far before something hard struck him in the back of the head, rendering him unconscious. Jafar stood over his unconscious prisoner, a bored expression on his face but still a satisfied gleam in his dark eyes. "I don't know why you bother genie, you waste precious energy on such a foolish aspiration of a fake sense of freedom. No matter, I have your bottle and you, all I need now is to locate a spell that works over the three wishes to put you back where you belong. I will use you and the other two genies to get what I want, there is no doubt in that."

* * *

Will dragged himself up out of the rabbit hole, more than ready to lay eyes on all the peculiar people of Storybrooke and maybe pop into Granny's to return that key he'd nicked. He might even give her some money for that cup of coffee, or maybe not. That hole in the floor was likely a costly expense, and he really didn't want to pay for it.

He glanced around, wondering what part of the town they'd ended up in. Anastasia was standing a few feet away, smiling appreciatively at the beauty of the place they'd found themselves, the trees were awash with green, and flowers dotted the landscape in a variety of colours. There was even the sound of birds peeping in the lightly scented air. It was beautiful, but Will couldn't place it, unless they had ended up outside of Jefferson's large estate.

One glance at Alice told him they had not. She knew where they were, all too well. "Alice, I think I've figured it out, but where exactly are we?"

She looked over to her companions, the tears that had been threatening to fall in Wonderland finally breaking free and trickling down her face. She knew this place well, she had spent many hours of her carefree childhood days dashing about the paths looking for rabbit holes after that first time she fell down one. When she wasn't seeking a way to that fanciful and dangerous realm, she was having tea parties to practice the proper way to act the next time she saw her dear Mad Hatter.

"We're in England," she whispered, reaching up and wiping the tears from her eyes.

Anastasia's mouth fell slightly open in shock, this wasn't the plan. Before she could speak, Will jumped in. "Why the bloody hell would that rabbit dig a hole to England when we told him Storybrooke?" he demanded, reaching up to run his fingers through his cropped hair.

"To make up for something he said to Cyrus years ago, saying he should leave me for my own safety. Rabbit just wanted to make amends by sending us where Cyrus wanted to go," Alice softly said, her mind racing. They were as trapped as he was now.

"So can you find another one of those lovely rabbit holes to get back to Wonderland? You seemed to fall into them frequently when you were a kid," Will inquired, glancing about. If this was where Alice grew up he had to admit he envied her a bit. Just the grounds were lovely; he wondered what the house was like.

Alice shook her head. "It was very random, sometimes I'd find them every few weeks after I'd return, other times I might go a year or two. And it is hard to say if he'll dig another one now, maybe Jafar killed him for helping us or to stop him from coming to find us to rescue Cyrus."

At the sight of her distress Will went over to take Alice in his arms in an effort to comfort her, as she'd burst into tears at the thought they might never get back to rescue the man she loved. In an effort to give the friends privacy, Anastasia reached into the pocket of her cloak to pull out the genie's compass. She wasn't sure why she desired to look at it, all it did was spin. She mused it had given him hope and comfort for years unending; it might do the same for her in this predicament. They'd only started to form a friendship in the last few weeks, but she couldn't stand to think what Jafar could be doing to him, and they were powerless to stop it.

She glanced down at the compass in her gloved hand, her blue eyes going wide with shock. This was most unexpected and heartbreaking at the same time. The compass was no longer in a constant spinning motion, it was pointing towards the one person Cyrus had longed to find most.

His mother was in England.

* * *

_Time was no longer a luxury they had, and Cyrus was determined he would not see the life slip away from their mother as it had Nadira. He could not abide the thought of that heartache on top of the pain dealt by their sister's death. There had to be a way to cure their mother, something no one had thought of._

_Their father had fallen into a depressive state; he hardly spoke and rarely left the area of the gardens their mother loved. He didn't even yell at any of his sons, which actually surprised Cyrus. He was fairly certain in the last twenty-four hours he'd done at least one stupid thing that should have set Naseem off, and yet nothing came of it._

_As he turned down the hall towards the dining room he found Faarih and Raheem talking, holding a book. He walked towards them at a fast pace, asking what they were discussing._

_Raheem smiled, although it was forced and lacking any warmth or joy. "This book holds legends of items that have great healing properties. If we could locate just one there is a chance we could cure our mother of this disease."_

"_But it will be dangerous, some of these items are in places that are difficult to locate, or even travel to. Only three are either within the city, or just outside the boarders. The only trouble is father would kill us for even considering this," Faarih said, biting his bottom lip lightly as he contemplating their father's ire._

"_We may all be dead before this disease runs its course, so it matters little. What are the items and how do we find them?" Cyrus asked, not really caring what their father thought. The man was despondent; he highly doubted he would notice one of them missing for a day or two, let alone all three of them. He hadn't taken a meal with any of them since Pari had fallen ill._

_Raheem described the items, and where to find them. He'd already decided to see if he could discover the genie's lamp that was supposedly hidden outside of the city. He had his doubts it existed, as genies were more a legend than anything, but it was the quest that appealed to him._

_Faarih was set on finding a certain flower that bloomed only in certain places and it was fortunate there was one garden within the city that it did. He was the son who always managed to sneak out beyond the palace gates and explore, much to Raheem's bafflement and Cyrus' envy. He had seen it once, and was sure if he offered enough money in return there was a chance he could persuade the old woman who had the flower to allow him to take just one petal, as that was all that would be needed to cure their mother._

_He had his doubts, of course, as the woman was renowned for being mean spirited and only looked out for herself. Many had tried to persuade her into gifting them with just one petal before, and she always refused. He wasn't sure he could succeed, but he would try._

_That left Cyrus with the only option left, that being an elixir. The book listed only two sorcerers who had powerful enough magic to be able to make it. One was in the Enchanted Forest, a trip that would take too long, but the other was just outside the city. He felt his skin crawl when he read the name._

_Everyone knew of Ghadir, he was not someone to take lightly. He had been known to do things out of kindness, but that was years ago, long before any of their own memories. Power had corrupted him, and there were whispers he was attempting to create a spell that would break all the laws of magic to make him all powerful._

_Cyrus didn't care to think of what price he may have to pay for this elixir, but for his mother he'd pay any price. All three of them were desperate; it was obvious his fear for their mother's life was also haunting his brother's thoughts._

_No matter the cost, one of them was going to find the cure. It didn't matter which of the three found it, but they promised to meet in the dining room just before the evening meal, and hopefully one would hold the cure for their mother within their hands._

AN: Okay, the next chapter is almost 30 pages long, I can't decide if I'll post it as one, or break it in two if I can even find a place to break it up.

Second - How awesome was the last episode?! It is about time Cyrus was put in the spotlight, bloody well about time. I'm getting aggravated that it looks like that role reversal may stick and it makes no sense with everything revealed now. I just hope we get a lot more Cyrus now, to make up for the shameful under use of his character. That was certainly the best episode since _Trust Me_, in my opinion.


End file.
